President Trump takes aim at extractive industry transparency rules, and the Global Fund’s director search zeroes in on three contenders. This week in development news.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is looking for a new director, and the board’s nominating committee on Monday announced three candidates vying to succeed Mark Dybul, whose four-year term ends May 31. Helen Clark, the former United Nations Development Programme chief; Muhammad Ali Pate, Nigeria’s former health minister; and Subhanu Saxena, former CEO of the Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla, will all compete in the selection process, which is scheduled during a board retreat on Feb. 27-28. One of the Global Fund director’s primary responsibilities is to lead the funding replenishment, which occurs in three-year cycles. Last year Dybul led the fund to a nearly $13 billion replenishment — including $4.3 billion from the United States — the highest commitment total since the fund’s creation in 2002. All three director candidates raise some concerns about how the Global Fund would relate to the Trump administration under their leadership, according to The New York Times.
Gayle Smith, former administrator of USAID under President Barack Obama, landed a new job less than a month after stepping down from her government role. Smith will lead the ONE Campaign, the 7 million member poverty-fighting advocacy organization co-founded by rockstar philanthropist Bono. She succeeds Michael Elliott, who died in July 2016, and interim CEO Adrian Lovett. ONE is known for being well-connected on Capitol Hill — it played a big role in pushing the Electrify Africa Act through congress — and will now see its bipartisan coalition put to the test as the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers look to cut budgets and challenge U.S. contributions to international organizations.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
