January 26, 2009

Obama Administration Asks PEPFAR Head Mark Dybul to Resign

President Barack Obama’s administration has asked U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and administrator of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), ambassador Mark Dybul, to tender his resignation immediately, according to CQ HealthBeat as reported by kaisernetwork.org.

An e-mail sent to U.S. foreign aid officials on January 22 revealed that Dybul is “no longer serving” as the program’s administrator and that the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator “will continue to function under the leadership of career staff until a successor is confirmed.”

Last year, Congress authorized $45 billion over the next five years for PEPFAR, which fights HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in developing countries. Dybul had helmed PEPFAR under George W. Bush since 2006. In a January 9 e-mail to his staff, Dybul announced that he would continue to serve as PEPFAR administrator past Obama’s January 20 inauguration for an indeterminate period of time. CQ HealthBeat reports that many global health advocates were disappointed by the announcement, arguing that PEPFAR placed too much emphasis on abstinence-based HIV prevention programs under the Bush administration.

Search: Mark Dybul, PEPFAR, Barack Obama, George W. Bush

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Previous Comments:

Greg747, Patchogue, LI, 2009-01-27 16:27:52
Uh, Steven from Tunis, are you kidding? The only salute most of us have for Bush is good-bye! After trashing domestic HIV/AIDS funding for the past several years, adios! And while most African nations are in enourmous need, no more PEPFAR money for anti-Gay governments! No more American tax dollars to nations that imprison, torture, and kill their Gay citizens!

D Dallen, Long Beach, 2009-01-27 15:18:17
If CQ Health Beat knows what they're talking about, a new administrator would seem to be indicated, and no one is playing politics with AIDS. I would think just the opposite. I am disturbed that Dybul was gay, only because most of us gay folks seem to be getting short shrift since before day one from Pres. Obama. I get the feeling he can't really stand us, but time will continue to tell. Then again, gay doesn't always mean "good" as I used to believe. Let's here from Dybul. Interview?

jt2254, pensacolaFL, 2009-01-27 14:56:56
yep....for sure playing politics by getting rid of ignorant, stupid 'rightwinger' policies that require abstinence only (ignorance is blissfully deadly) on aids education. Sometimes just doing the right thing with the best people is NOT playing politics...just smart!

jvman, , 2009-01-27 13:34:42
In fairness to matters YOU do not know, and Mark s wish to keep his post, and no time limit ID, so he will be replaced by an even better choice. Gay male, female the policies, enforcement of and openess to change and better broader applicatoion, may just be better served by another. OBAMA has the authority and the freedom to choose the best canidate based on his or her qualifications, again politics aside, Obama may have more info NOW and more choices than he once had so what Libral pressure..

Dave Martin, Austin, 2009-01-27 11:08:42
I'd rather see a person with HIV/AIDS in that position anyway. Too much power has been taken by non-POZ persons in this fight. It's our lives, and we need to be on the forefront in this battle. Just being gay is not sufficient, in my opinion.

Steven, Tunis, 2009-01-27 03:38:58
Obama says, I salute President Bush for his leadership in crafting a plan for AIDS relief in Africa and backing it up with funding dedicated to saving lives and preventing the spread of the disease. The head of that program is Mark Dybul, an openly gay, scientist appointed by Bush. Obama first says that he will keep Dybul, but then under political pressure from his liberal friends, dumps Dybul, leaving the program without leadership. Who is playing politics with AIDS?