Prevention Matters

President Obama on Monday named Eric Goosby as the new global AIDS coordinator and administrator of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the New York Times reports.

According to the Times, Goosby likely will be a "lightning rod" if he is confirmed by the Senate because some advocates are hoping to expand the current focus of PEPFAR prevention programs beyond abstinence and fidelity to include things like increased condom distribution and family planning programs. Although Goosby will stipulate some guidelines, other policies were written into law, the Times reports.

Goosby currently serves as CEO and chief medical officer of Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation and is a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California-San Francisco. During the Clinton administration, he served as deputy director of the White House National AIDS Policy Office and director of HHS' Office of HIV/AIDS Policy. According to White House officials, Goosby was a key player in the developing and implementing national HIV/AIDS treatment programs in China, Rwanda, South Africa and Ukraine.