The Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a health financing institution focused on the global South, is poised this week to select its next director – from the North. And while the selection process has been conducted in the utmost secrecy, confidential selection documents show that the list is down to four candidates, said to be from Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The candidates, according to Le Monde newspaper and other sources, are two women and two men: Monique Barbut of France, who is leaving her post of CEO and chair of the Global Environment Facility; Barbara Stocking of the UK, the executive director of Oxfam England; Robert Greenhill, managing director and chief business officer of the World Economic Forum; and Mark Dybul, invited professor at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law (Georgetown), who since 2006 had been leading the implementation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief launched by George W. Bush.

The Global Fund is not only changing leadership but is undergoing numerous other profound changes as well, such as its funding model and programmes (IPW, Public Health, 15 October 2012).

The confidential report of the Global Fund Executive Director Ad Hoc Nominations Committee, available here [pdf], lists the four candidates’ qualifications without naming them.

The report Annexes, available here [pdf], show the confidentiality terms, the selection terms, and the interview questions asked.