The next ED for UNAIDS has been named: it is to be Michel Sidibe, the current Deputy Executive Director of the organization. The release of this long-anticipated announcement (conveniently) coincided with World AIDS Day, although it has been known since the beginning of October that he was favored by the Program Coordinating Board, the primary governance body for UNAIDS. After their deliberations, the decision went to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - who had final say over the candidate.Mr. Sidie has almost 30 years experience in international public health and has been at UNAIDS since 2001. This last point may be both a pro and a con: as an insider, he may either be reluctant to make changes that the organization needs; or he may have enough knowledge about its inner-workings to effectively move forward a re-purposed UNAIDS. As called out in a Lancet editorial and commented on by Ruth Levine, there are many challenges and tough critiques that this new leader will face in the future, especially if he does not take a decisive stand on questions about AIDS exceptionalism, a need to re-focus on HIV prevention, and the future of an organization with a 'curious mandate' as a whole.A CGD working group on The Future of UNAIDS has been formed to deliberate over how the organization should move forward to meet some of these future challenges. Recently, the group held the last of three global consultation meetings in Durban, South Africa. The final report is expected in January 2009.
