Statement from UNITAID Executive Board

The UNITAID Executive Board welcomes the announcement of the Director-General of WHO  that Mr Lelio Marmora will assume the function of UNITAID  Executive Director on 15 October 2014. Mr Marmora joins UNITAID from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria where he spent the past seven years.  Most recently he was Head, Africa and Middle East Department at the Global Fund where he coordinated 170 staff across four regional teams and managed the Global Fund’s USD 8 billion portfolio for the region of 48 countries.

“We are delighted Lelio Marmora will join UNITAID,” said Dr Philippe Douste-Blazy, Chair of the UNITAID Executive Board.  “He is widely acknowledged for his highly effective track record at the Global Fund, a close collaborating partner for UNITAID and its mission to deliver better and cheaper products more quickly to those in need for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Lelio brings a vast amount of experience in managing large grants and implementing programmes for the three diseases at the country level”.

“I am delighted to be joining UNITAID”, Mr Marmora said.  “Although still a young organisation, UNITAID has clearly proven how its business model, using market dynamics to ensure that more suitable and more affordable products are made available for those most in need, delivers high value impact for global health and development.  There is no other organisation with such a level of expertise in the markets or which is better placed to take full advantage of the opportunities the markets bring.”

Prior to his time at the Global Fund, Mr Marmora spent seven years at the World Bank where he focused on fund raising, resource mobilization and program design.  A lawyer by training, Mr Marmora has also worked at a variety of other international organisations such as UNESCO and UNDP as well as for the government in his native Argentina.

UNITAID is hosted and administered by the World Health Organization.