The Lancet: Leading UNAIDS: a once-in-a-generation challenge?
Jamila Headley, managing director of the Health Global Access Project (Health GAP), and colleagues

“…The U.N. secretary general must embolden the AIDS response with a new UNAIDS leader who will reinvigorate the organization and position the AIDS crisis against the backdrop of other pressing priorities captured in the Sustainable Development Goals. First, the new leader must close the gap in political will and funding. … Second, he or she must partner with people living with and affected by HIV, key populations, and young people to deliver tailor-made technical, social, and political strategies for these communities. Third, he or she must lead transformations in legal and policy environments despite opposition — removing harmful laws, including those that criminalize some of the most affected populations, and accelerating uptake of evidence-based policy. Fourth, the new leader must lead the cultural and institutional changes needed at UNAIDS to address abuse of power and establish accountable leadership. We know the shortlist. Now the secretary general must ask who has the skills and experience to reform UNAIDS, to work with multiple governments, U.N. agencies, civil society, and communities, and to get the AIDS response back on track” (8/3).