The State Department's U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and director of
the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) position was unexpectedly vacated last week by its incumbent, Dr. Mark R. Dybul.
Dybul initially told colleagues on January 9th that he had been asked
to stay for several months; the day after Hillary Clinton was
confirmed, she announced that he had resigned, though he's reportedly
told friends he was asked to leave.
Michael Gerson wrote an op-ed
on Wednesday criticizing the move, calling Dybul "almost universally
respected among legislators, AIDS activists, foreign leaders and health
experts." But it's not just conservative op-ed writers who are
concerned; PEPFAR is one of the few things many health and development experts believe the Bush administration got right. The Times reports that nearly 70 anti-AIDS groups
sent Clinton a letter this week asking for a delay in naming a
successor and for a more open process in deciding on the next chief.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood was quizzed today about Dybul's sudden departure.
QUESTION: On Mark Dybul. Mr. Wood, The Washington Post reported
January 28th that the day after the inauguration of President Barack
Obama, your Global Coordinator on HIV/AIDS, Ambassador Mark Dybul, quote,
“received a call asking him to submit his resignation and leave by the end of
the day his office,” unquote. I am wondering why and what happened.
MR. WOOD: Well, very simple.
QUESTION: Excuse me?
MR. WOOD: It’s very simple. I’m going to explain.As you know, at the end of an administration, on January 20, officials
who are political appointees are required to submit their resignations and
depart. And that’s all that was. It was for not just Mr. Dybul but other, you
know, officials from the Bush Administration. They are required to submit their
resignations and to depart. That was a part of it.
Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) reportedly
approached Clinton recently to recommend Harvard professor and former
WHO AIDS chief Dr. Jim Yong Kim for the position, only to be told that
Clinton had already offered it to Dr. Eric Goosby, who led AIDS
initiatives for the Clinton administration. Goosby refused to comment, according to the Times.
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