FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2017
Contact: Jessica Bassett, [email protected], 518-593-7628

STATEMENT FROM HEALTH GAP ON THE ELECTION OF PETER SANDS AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE GLOBAL FUND 

Health Global Access Project (Health GAP) issued the following statement regarding the election of a new Executive Director, Peter Sands, by the Board of Directors of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 

"The Global Fund’s new director will head the institution during a period that is do-or-die for the response to the leading preventable killers in the world,” said Asia Russell, Executive Director of Health GAP. “Peter Sands must prioritize delivering a bold strategy to secure the funding increases needed from wealthy governments; act against the rising tide of human rights violations faced by people with HIV and other vulnerable groups, in particular gay men, trans women, sex workers and people who use drugs; fix operational bottlenecks that undermine lifesaving program scale up; and ensure the Global Fund is truly global in reach – by securing funding for urgently needed service delivery and advocacy in middle income countries, where the majority of people with the diseases live, rather than retreating from those countries.

"As we’ve already seen, there will be no honeymoon period for Mr. Sands as he transitions to his new role. He will have to find a path for working with the international community, even against great headwinds. Given the urgency of this moment and the number of lives depending on full funding for the Global Fund and the expansion of quality programs, we are rooting for his success, and are committed to holding him, and the Global Fund, accountable to the communities they serve."

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