Incoming Global Fund head Mark Dybul says organization has 'strong forward trajectory'

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Board recently made several decisions that will affect the future of the organization, including appointing former U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Mark Dybul as executive director and adopting a new funding model, Nature reports in an article examining the history and future of the Fund. "It has been a rough couple of years for the Global Fund," but "[l]ast week's appointment of Mark Dybul as executive director could signal a fresh start, and has been broadly welcomed," Nature writes (Butler, 11/22). "As [Dybul] begins his four-year term in early February 2013, current Fund General Manager Gabriel Jaramillo will transition out of his position," PlusNews reports, noting, "That position, created to guide the Fund through reforms proposed by a 2011 high-level review panel at a time of low donor confidence, will disappear."

In an interview with PlusNews, Dybul said, "One of the things that is most exciting for me is that… the Fund is a learning organization. It routinely reviews, reflects and adapts. ... The Fund is now in a very strong position with a strong forward trajectory," the news service writes. On the future of the Global Fund, Dybul said, "I would expect the Fund to look different in four years, just as it looked different four years ago. ... Static organizations are by definition bureaucracies; if you're not changing, that's when you should be worried," according to PlusNews (11/20). In a detailed interview with the Global Fund's newsletter, "Global Fund News Flash," Dybul said, "We're at a unique moment in time, when we have the scientific advances to allow us to completely control these three diseases. We need to redouble our efforts to make sure we're raising the resources and having that incredible focus on impact and high value for money. It's exciting to have the chance to be involved with this remarkable institution at this time." Dybul also discusses the Fund's new funding model, controlling the spread of HIV infection, working with technical partners and countries, and the importance of an independent inspector general (11/21).