UNAIDS welcomes the appointment by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of Eric Goosby as his Special Envoy on Tuberculosis. Dr Goosby will work on increasing efforts to end tuberculosis (TB) by keeping TB high on the global political and development agenda.
“I congratulate Dr Goosby and look forward to working with him in his new role as Special Envoy on Tuberculosis,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Dr Goosby’s knowledge and experience working on HIV and TB, together with his dynamic and committed leadership, will further strengthen our collaboration and bring us closer to ending the dual epidemics of HIV and TB.”
TB and HIV are inextricably linked. In 2012, people living with HIV accounted for 1.1 million (13%) of the estimated 8.7 million people who developed TB globally. TB remains a leading cause of death among people living with HIV. In 2013, 360 000 people living with HIV died of TB, a disease which is both preventable and curable.
Dr Goosby has led the United States of America’s global HIV efforts since 2009 when he was appointed as Ambassador-at-Large by President Barack Obama. Under his leadership, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) significantly developed its HIV programmes around the world, supporting millions of people living with and affected by HIV, many of whom were also living with TB.
UNAIDS has worked closely with Dr Goosby. In 2011, UNAIDS partnered with Dr Goosby and PEPFAR to spearhead the Global Plan towards the elimination of new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive. Between 2009 and 2013, new HIV infections among children in the 21 Global Plan priority countries fell by 43%.
UNAIDS and Dr Goosby have also worked closely together on increasing country ownership of health responses as well as on efforts to strengthen health systems. A strong partnership with countries as they lead their response will continue to galvanize the global HIV and TB response.
UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
