OF NOTE THIS WEEK

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday named Eric Goosby as the new Global AIDS Coordinator and administrator of PEPFAR, the New York Times reports. Goosby, a medical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, has a long career in public health that includes senior posts in the Clinton administration.

Goosby, whose nomination has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, said in a statement that PEPFAR "has already saved millions of lives in sub-Saharan Africa and other hard-hit areas around the world. But significant challenges relating to the prevention and treatment of HIV remain." In a new blog post, HIV/AIDS Monitor Director Nandini Oomman comments on the Goosby nomination and discusses some of the most important issues that the new Coordinator will have to tackle.

NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DONORS

• The White House announces President Obama's nomination of Eric Goosby as Global AIDS Coordinator
• The World Bank says it will mobilize health financing of up to $3.1 billion this year to help poor countries during the global economic crisis
• PEPFAR publishes its April newsletter

OTHER NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

• Crisis Set to Hit Treatment for 1.7M with HIV (Financial Times)
• World Bank Triples Funds for Health Care amid Crisis (Reuters)
• Global Financial Crisis Puts MDG Targets at Risk, Say IMF, World Bank (Guardian)
• U.N.: Africa Must Manufacture Own Generic AIDS Drugs (Reuters)
• Zambia: Preventing Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Still a Challenge (Lusaka Times)
• Uganda: HIV-Positive IDPs Struggle as Food Aid Dries Up (PlusNews)