Ex-minister Pate withdraws from Global Fund top job

Former Minister of State for Health, Dr Muhammad Ali Pate has withdrawn his candidature for the position of the Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Pate was one of the three finalists in the race to elect the new head of the organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The current head of the Global Fund, Mark Dybul, plans to step down at the end of May.

Pate, in an email to the Fund, said the failure of the board to interview the shortlisted candidates as scheduled without giving justifiable reasons has eroded its credibility and independence.

Candidates for the job include Subhanu Saxena, who formerly headed the generic drug company Cipla, while the third candidate was Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand.

However, on February 27, the Global Fund issued a statement saying it would restart the selection process because of issues encountered in the recruitment process.

Pate said during the vetting process several efforts were made to question his candidacy on the basis that he was a Muslim, or of Nigerian origin, saying that it smacked heavily of racism and Islamophobia that is now finding its roots in a respectable global health partnership like the Global Fund.

The New York Times had earlier reported that Pate forwarded Twitter posts which called U.S President Donald Trump a fascist describing the president as much in common with ISIS for his anti-Muslim stance.

Global Fund was launched in 2002 and has given mainly poor countries more than $30 billion to fight public health threats. Donors to the fund include governments, foundations, and private industry, with the United States contributing about one-third of the total.