Thursday, January 21, 2010

Has long meeting in my office and private dinner at Trattoria Sorrento in Bethesda with Eric Goosby, the Ambassador at Large in charge of PEPFAR and the new Chief of the OGAC (Office of Global AIDS Coordinator) to discuss the future of PEPFAR. Recall that Eric was one of the people that I flew in the put the icing on the cake of convincing the White House in 2002 that I was right about starting PEPFAR. In any event, we discussed the issues of broadening the mandate of PEPFAR and integrating it in a more comprehensive health systems partnership with the developing countries. Unlike in the past, he is in favor of “operational” or “Implementation” research to determine best practices associated with PEPFAR mission. He confided in me the issues in the Department of State in putting the President’s Global Health Initiative (GHI) under USAID with new Director Raj Shah. Since PEPFAR in included within and is the major part ($51 Billion out of $63 Billion) of the GHI, the question remains will Hillary Clinton put PEPFAR under USAID. Given the ineptitudes of USAID, I told Eric that he should never accept that. He agrees and actually said that he would resign if that happened. I do not think that things will happen that way.