Hesperian applauds the naming of Eric Goosby to lead PEPFAR

By Susan McCallister

Eric Goosby, head of Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation and longtime Hesperian friend and regular advisor, is a welcome choice to steer the President’s program to fight HIV around the world. And not just for the obvious reasons, which include:

• his pioneering work over the years to make antiretroviral therapy widely available to all who need it
• his vast experience globally, organizing and supporting projects in countries as diverse as China, Rwanda, South Africa and Ukraine, as well as 25 years of clinical work and training here in the US
• his ability to draw powerful lessons from the experience in San Francisco during the earliest days of the epidemic that are no less applicable in rural and other poor communities on the other side of the world—especially when working alongside marginalized and stigmatized groups
• his early understanding of the urgent need to integrate treatment and prevention, and creative thinking about ways to do so 

In addition, and even more important to Hesperian, Dr. Goosby has worked for many years on ways to ensure that international funding, training and service delivery efforts lead to long-lasting and sustainable HIV treatment and care programs. He is especially committed to principles and strategies Hesperian also strives to foster, particularly people taking charge of their own health at both an individual and community level and building the capacity of health workers.

This commitment is illustrated in an article written in 2007 by Dr. Goosby and Mark Cloutier, head of the SF AIDS Foundation. They urged PEPFAR to (points are paraphrased):

• support country ownership and leadership, as it is those on the front lines who must ultimately design and oversee a sustainable response in their own countries. Emergency relief must now be focused on the development of country-owned systems that can stand the test of time and reach out to all areas where people are living.
• invest in health workers and health systems, with more attention given to increasing the numbers of health care workers, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 3% of the world’s health workers are combating 25% of the world’s HIV. Donors need to work with host countries to retain health workers with fair salaries and improved working conditions, and to build the capacity of community health workers to bring care close to the people.

Facilitating the capacity of others to deliver care is a challenging role, especially when the impulse is to quickly and directly address the needs for care, which are usually pressing and huge. The experience Dr. Goosby has in considering how to play this role--both as an individual mentor and as an organizational partner--has the potential to make PEPFAR a true partner in the fight against HIV.

We hope the Senate confirms him quickly, even though we’ll miss him here in San Francisco.