Donald Kaberuka new Global Fund board chairman

Geneva, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | Former president of the African Development Bank Donald Kaberuka has been selected as the new board chairman of the The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Dr. Kaberuka was selected by the Global Fund Board on Thursday following a six-month search that was designed to identify the best leadership pair for the Global Fund.

The process was led by the Board’s Leadership Nominations Committee, and the full Board finalized its vote to approve Dr. Kaberuka as chairman and Roslyn Morauta as Vice Chair,bringing an exceptional level of leadership and international experience.

“The Global Fund is an extraordinary partnership, which has made a difference to humanity over the last two decades,” said Dr. Kaberuka in a statement released by the Global Fund.

“It is now time to face emerging issues and sustain the achievements. I look forward to working with the Board and staff to get to the next level. Ending these three epidemics is a fight of our time and the Global Fund has shown that it is possible.”

Their two-year term is scheduled to begin on 16 May 2019, at the close of the Board’s 41^stmeeting. They will replace Aida Kurtovic and John Simon, who have served as Board Chair and Vice Chair since 2017.

Roslyn Morauta currently serves as alternate board member for the Western Pacific Region constituency. She has a long association with the Global Fund having served as Chair of the Papua New Guinea Country Coordinating Mechanism. From her time also as first lady of Papua New Guinea, she has steadily championed health, HIV programs and gender issues.

“The Global Fund can provide tremendous support, and I know firsthand what a difference it can make,” said Lady Roslyn. “There is no time to lose with such an ambitious agenda.”

In 2019, the Global Fund seeks to raise at least US$14 billion for its Sixth Replenishment. The funds will help save 16 million lives, cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB and malaria in half, and build stronger health systems by 2023. France will host the Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment pledging conference on 10 October 2019 in Lyon.

Who is Kaberuka?

Dr. Kaberuka was president of the African Development Bank and chairman of its board of directors from 2005-2015. Prior to that he was finance minister of Rwanda from 1997-2005.

As finance minister of Rwanda from 1997-2005, Dr. Kaberuka also served as governor for Rwanda for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

At the African Development Bank, Dr. Kaberuka led the efforts to bolster the capital resources of the bank from US$30 billion to US$100 billion. He is currently on the boards of trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and the Center for Global Development.

He was Hauser Leader in Residence at Harvard Kennedy School, co-chaired the London School of Economics/Oxford panel on fragile states and the Fourth International Monetary Fund evaluation panel. During the Ebola epidemic he played a major role in coordinating the African response. Dr. Kaberuka is Chairman and Co-founder of SouthBridge, a Pan-African Investment and Financial Advisory firm and high representative of the African Union on financing the union and the Peace Fund.

Lady Roslyn Morauta has worked in Papua New Guinea for the National Planning Office, the Department of Finance and Treasury and in the private sector, both as a management consultant and running businesses. Originally from Australia, she has lived and worked in Papua New Guinea since 1982. Prior to that, she worked in publishing in England, taught politics at the University of Ghana, the Australian National University and Queensland University.

In addition to her work on the Global Fund Board, she has served as a member of the Anglicare (PNG) board, the Papua New Guinea National AIDS Council, the Asia-Pacific Leadership Forum on HIV/AIDS, the Papua New Guinea Alliance of Civil Society Organisations Against HIV/AIDS and the Papua New Guinea Maritime College Board.