LONDON — Civil society groups say they will be watching closely as the $1 billion Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents prepares for a leadership shake-up amid a global backlash against sexual and reproductive health and rights.
From July 1, GFF will no longer have a standalone director at the World Bank. Instead, the multidonor trust fund will be run by the bank’s new global director of health, nutrition, and population, Muhammad Pate, who is a former Nigerian health minister. Monique Vledder will remain manager of the GFF Secretariat, a GFF spokesperson told Devex.
The change comes as GFF’s current director, Mariam Claeson, steps down after being seconded to the World Bank from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to lead GFF when it first launched in 2015. Tim Evans, who has been the banks’ senior director of health, nutrition, and population for the past six years, is also leaving as Pate takes over the portfolio.