[Editor’s Note: The Global Fund made a series of announcements last week, including the appointment of a new Executive Director. Excerpt’s from the five media releases are presented below]
Global Fund Appoints Mark Dybul as Executive Director
15 November 2012
GENEVA – The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today appointed as its new Executive Director Ambassador Mark R. Dybul, a former United States Global AIDS Coordinator.
Dr. Dybul is widely recognized as a visionary leader on global health for his role in helping create and then lead the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, which has been highly effective in helping limit and reverse the growth of HIV infection worldwide. Trained as a medical doctor with a specialty in immunology, he became an expert on AIDS as a clinician, a scientist and as a strategically minded administrator.
“Mark Dybul is a true leader, who can take the Global Fund to the next level,” said Simon Bland, Board Chair of the Global Fund. “He has a really impressive vision of how to achieve global health goals. He is passionate, energetic and focused.”
Dr. Dybul currently co-directs the Global Health Law Program at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, where he is also a Distinguished Scholar…
…Dr. Dybul may be best known for playing a key role in creating, and later leading, PEPFAR –
the largest global health initiative ever undertaken to address a single disease, which is widely credited with helping reverse the trend of AIDS, reducing new infection in many countries.
…Dr. Dybul also has deep knowledge of implementation of programs to treat and prevent AIDS, TB and malaria in developing countries, and has experience working with health administrators at many levels, especially in Africa.
In addition, he currently serves as a director on numerous executive and advisory boards of health organizations, including Malaria No More, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the Global Business Coalition for Health.
In addition to the medical degree he earned from Georgetown University School of Medicine, he has received honorary doctorates from Georgetown and from the University of San Francisco.
Global Fund Board Decides on Transition to New Approach for Funding Grants
15 November 2012
GENEVA – The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today voted to start an immediate transition to a new approach to funding grants by investing additional money in health programs that are poised to achieve the quickest impact.
A new funding model is designed to significantly improve the way the Global Fund invests in health programs, with a process that is more predictable and reliable, and also more flexible, so that it can achieve a higher success rate in all grants and more effectively save the lives of people affected by the three diseases.
The framework for the new funding model was adopted by the Board in September. Today, the Board decided on additional aspects, including a transition to the new funding model starting in 2013.
Special consideration will be given to countries applying with programs that are, among other things, underfunded over the 2013-2014 period or at risk of service interruptions, as well as programs in a position to achieve rapid impact…
…The new system will rely on country dialogue to inform a process that leads to submitting a concept note, as well as early feedback from the Global Fund, other donors and technical experts on how the proposal may need adjusting before moving forward. That is expected to reduce waiting times, and to improve the overall success rate of applications.
Board Approves Integration of AMFm into Core Global Fund Grant Processes
15 November 2012
GENEVA – The Global Fund Board decided to integrate the Affordable Medicines Facility – malaria (AMFm) into core Global Fund grant management and financial processes, following an orderly transition period in 2013. The decision was reached after extensive consultations with implementers, technical partners and donors about lessons learned from a pilot phase of AMFm.
The AMFm was created to improve access to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the most effective anti-malaria treatment. The AMFm pilot phase was launched in April 2009 and began operations in July 2010. As demonstrated by an independent evaluation, it increased availability and drove down the price of ACTs through a factory-gate subsidy on behalf of buyers in pilot countries, combined with measures to support the safe and effective scale-up of access to ACTs. The pilot phase ends on 31 December 2012.
During a transition period in 2013, the lessons learned from the operations and resourcing of Phase 1 of the AMFm, such as manufacturer negotiations and the co-payment mechanism, will be integrated into core Global Fund processes. At its September 2012 meeting, the Board extended the Global Fund’s mandate to host the AMFm until 31 December 2013 in order to ensure that access to quality-assured ACTs is not disrupted during the transition phase.
Under the new, integrated model, eligible countries will be able to allocate funding from their core Global Fund grants and determine how the money should be spent. Following an assessment by technical partners, the AMFm model may be further modified to include malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs)…
Global Fund Terminates the Employment of Inspector General
15 November 2012
GENEVA – The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced today that it had decided to terminate the employment of its Inspector General, John Parsons.
The Board decision came after a careful review of his performance, which was found to be unsatisfactory.
Mr. Parsons was responsible for overseeing audits and investigations by the Office of the Inspector General, whose mission is to provide the Global Fund with independent and objective assurance over the design and effectiveness of controls in place to manage risks affecting programs supported by the Global Fund…
Statement on Investigation in Cambodia
14 November 2012
An investigation by the Global Fund’s Office of the Inspector General into grants in Cambodia uncovered credible and substantive evidence of serious financial wrongdoing, on procurement and other issues. Immediate action has been taken to protect the health of people supported by Global Fund grants in Cambodia, by adopting safeguards in procurement, financing and management. The Global Fund and country stakeholders are also considering potential changes in implementer arrangements.
The evidence of wrongdoing uncovered by the Global Fund does not diminish the striking successes and impact that Global Fund grants have helped achieve through programs implemented by health officials, civil society organizations and partners in Cambodia. Recently-completed program reviews show an 80 percent decline in malaria deaths over the last decade, and a 43 percent fall in TB prevalence over the same period. These impressive gains, reflecting the hard work and dedication of health workers, civil society and partner organizations, are gaining global recognition…
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