Michel Kazatchkine to focus on improving partnerships, health care infrastructures

Michel Kazatchkine -- France's global ambassador for HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases who on Thursday was selected to be the new executive director of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria -- has announced that he will aim to improve the organization's partnerships with United Nations organizations and donors, the Boston Globe reports (Donnelly, Boston Globe, 2/9).

The Global Fund on Thursday announced that the organization's board had selected Kazatchkine to replace current Executive Director Richard Feachem, whose contract ends in March (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/8).

Kazatchkine said that he wants funding to "have a positive spillover effect in helping fight other diseases. That strengthening can only happen through partnerships."

In addition, Kazatchkine said that he hopes Global Fund grants will help to fight not only HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria but also to improve health care infrastructures in developing countries (Boston Globe, 2/9).