Offline: Reasons to be disappointed

Abstract

Who might succeed Michel Kazatchkine? This question is unfairly premature. He remains Executive Director of the Global Fund, and justly so. But the question is being posed by some observers, amid furious rumours about the future of the Fund. Mark Dybul, Bill Steiger, Anders Nordström, Bernhard Kouchner. All have been singled out as potential successors. The Fund's Board meeting, held in Accra last week, was, as one senior staff member described it, “very tense”. He explained: “We are grappling with a range of complex issues that have coalesced to create a perfect storm.” That storm has led to the partial removal of the Executive Director's management responsibility. Why? Because the Fund is suspected of allowing misuse of monies in several recipient countries; it is now unable to award further grants until 2014. In will come a new “general manager”, supposedly to strengthen donor confidence in the Fund's work. But this deckchair management strategy misses the point. Ignoring the achievements of the Fund and the real predicament it now faces, the Board calls for an uninspiringly entitled “Consolidated Transformation Plan”. What this means is that the Board capitulated to pressure from donors. So who should take responsibility for the Global Fund's current problems? The Executive Director? No. It is the Board itself, the very group so eager to apportion blame elsewhere. It is the Board that must take full responsibility for the Fund's strategy, risk management procedures, fiduciary controls, and governance. Good Boards have the right membership, the correct expertise, and a high degree of engagement. The Global Fund's Board is not good. But on the performance of the Board, there is only silence. The Global Fund and a new modus operandiOn Nov 21–22, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria held its 25th Board meeting in Accra, Ghana. Tensions were high as the Fund had to make difficult decisions in a year that has been plagued by financial shortfalls, corruption, and calls for organisational reforms. In view of the financial challenges presented by the US budget environment and the Euro crisis, the Fund has now decided to cancel grant funding for round 11, which will be a huge setback to these disease programmes worldwide. Full-Text PDF