Friends of the Global Fund Board members applaud the appointment of two new board members:

Michel KAZATCHKINE, Special UN Envoy for HIV/Aids in Eastern Europe & Central Asia

& Andris PIEBALGS, Former European Commissioner for Development

 For immediate release

Monday March 30, 2015

“Friends of the Global Fund Europe” is very pleased to announce the nomination of Michel KAZATCHKINE, UN Secretary-General Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Andris PIEBALGS, Former European Commissioner for Development as new members of the Board.

Friends of the Global Fund Europe continues expanding its political advocacy activities in Europe and those two nominations to the Board mark a new stage in the development of its efforts to contribute sensitizing decision makers on global health issues and enhancing resource mobilization in favour of the Global Fund.

“Friends of the Global Fund Europe has a very active board composed of strong supporters of Global Health and the Global Fund throughout Europe. As we are just celebrating the World Day against Tuberculosis which is one of the major public health threat in Eastern Europe, the appointment of Michel Kazatchkine and Andris Piebalgs as new members of the Board, is an incredible added-value to our advocacy forces at European level as well as in Eastern Europe”, said Laurent Vigier, Chairman of the board.  “The coming years are crucial for Global Health and for the Global Fund. All Friends of the Global Fund Europe Board members are convinced that the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is at reach and that Europe must continue to show the way and stay the course to meet this fantastic goal”.

Charles GOERENS Vice-Chairman of Friends of the Global Fund Europe in charge of European Institutions, Luxembourg and Belgium declared “I am very proud and delighted with the nomination of Michel Kazatchkine and Andris Piebalgs. Their unfailing commitment to international solidarity and development, global health, human rights and the Global Fund are the most valuable assets we can have to help the Global Fund taking up the new challenges it faces.”

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Pr. Michel KAZATCHKINE has spent the past 30 years fighting AIDS and working to improve global health as a physician, researcher, advocate, policymaker, diplomat and administrator.

Pr. Kazatchkine is the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

He has been a Professor of Medicine and was the Head of the Department of Clinical Immunology at Paris Hospital “Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou”. He was also a Research Director at the French National Institute for Medical Research (INSERM) and was director of the French National Research Agency against AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (ANRS) between 1998 and 2005.

After two years as France’s global ambassador for the fights against HIV/AIDS and transmissible diseases, Pr. Kazatchkine was appointed in 2007 as the Executive Director of the Global Fund and served in this position until March 2012.

He has also served on several major international boards and committees at WHO, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Currently he is a Senior Fellow with the Global Health Program of the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies in Geneva, a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and serves as Chair of the Board of the Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund.

Andris PIEBALGS was European Commissioner for Energy (2004-2010) and then European Commissioner for Development (2010-2014). He is currently appointed Special Advisor of the President of the Republic of Latvia.

Andris Piebalgs is a politician and a diplomat. He occupied key positions at both national and European political levels.

From 1990 to 1994, Andris Piebalgs was appointed at the highest positions of the Latvian government:  Minister of Education (1990), Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister (1994), Deputy Secretary of State for EU affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia (2003-2004). He was a Latvian parliamentarian.

From 1995 to 2003, he worked in the Latvian Diplomatic service and served as the Ambassador of Latvia in Estonia and to the EU and helped Latvia accessing to the EU in 2004.

 

Founded in April 2005, Friends of the Global Fund Europe is a non-profit organization set up to encourage public and private initiatives in Europe to support the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, to spread knowledge and recognition of the Global Fund’s objectives, actions and results and finally to raise additional funds for its work.