LEE Jong-wook takes office as WHO Director-General

HIV/AIDS given new focus and priority Dr LEE Jong-wook takes office today as Director-General of the World Health Organization, with a pledge to focus the organization on HIV/AIDS, on achieving results in countries, and on helping to tackle the widespread human resources crisis in the health sector. As Director-General, Dr Lee joins an illustrious group of health leaders who have led WHO's work since the organization was established more than 55 years ago. "Our work together in the coming years will be guided by three principles. We must do the right things. We must do them in the right places. And we must do them the right way," he said in his inaugural address to WHO staff. Since he was elected to the post of Director-General at the World Health Assembly in May, Dr Lee has been working to build a leadership team of highly talented and committed public health professionals. They have come from around the world to devote their expertise to building better global health. New focus on AIDS; global plan by 1 December HIV/AIDS will be given a renewed emphasis as one of WHO's priority programmes, particularly focusing on the target of providing three million people in developing countries with antiretroviral drugs by the end of 2005 (the "Three by Five" goal). Dr Lee said he has given the newly strengthened HIV/AIDS department the task of producing a global plan to meet this "Three by Five" goal by World AIDS Day, 1 December. This target will guide much of WHO's work on AIDS, although along with the renewed emphasis on treatment, work on prevention, counselling and care will continue. The WHO departments working on HIV/AIDS will be brought into a new cluster together with tuberculosis and malaria. Much work has already been done around the world on understanding AIDS, developing treatment protocols, and advocating for increased political commitment and funding. What is required now is a new drive to get highly effective treatments to the people who need them. This mea...