Global Fund Board elects new leadership
22 April 2005
Geneva, Switzerland – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today elected a new Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board. Dr. Carol Jacobs, Chair of the National Commission for HIV/AIDS of Barbados, has been elected Chair of the Board of the Global Fund. The new Vice-Chair is Prof. Michel Kazatchkine, M.D., France's Ambassador on HIV/AIDS and Transmissible Diseases.
Dr. Carol Jacobs takes over the role of Chair from former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson. Prof. Kazatchkine succeeds Dr Hélène Rossert-Blavier, the General Director of the French NGO AIDES as Vice Chair. The election took place at the Global Fund’s 10th Board meeting in Geneva.
Dr. Jacobs is a national of the Caribbean and a medical graduate of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica, with nine years’ work experience in government service in Barbados (at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital), before going in to family practice in the private sector.
Dr. Jacobs has served as Chairman of Barbados National HIV/AIDS Commission since 2001, spearheading an expanded national response to HIV/AIDS. She joined the Board of the Global Fund as the Board representative for the Latin America and Caribbean Region in January 2004.
Professor Michel Kazatchkine, M.D., France's Ambassador on HIV/AIDS and Transmissible Diseases, has been working in the field of AIDS for the past 20 years.
An immunologist, Prof. Kazatchkine started treating AIDS patients in 1983, which led to his opening an AIDS clinic in 1985. In 1988, Prof. Kazatchkine became the director of the French National Research Agency (ANRS), the world's 2nd largest AIDS research program.
The Global Fund's Board is a unique structure for a financing mechanism as governments, non-governmental organizations and people representing communities living with the three diseases all share governance responsibilities. It includes representatives of donor and recipient governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector (including businesses and foundations) and affected communities. Donors hold nine voting seats, while recipients hold ten seats on the Board. In addition, key international development partners participate – but do not vote. These include the World Health Organization (WHO), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Bank. The latter also serves as the Global Fund's trustee.
The Global Fund Board elects a Chair and a Vice-Chair for two-year terms. The Chair and Vice-Chair positions alternate between representatives of the donor block and the recipient block.