The Resignation of Jonathan Mann
This chapter describes how tension between Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global Programme on AIDS (GPA) and Hiroshi Nakajima, the new World Health Organization (WHO) Director General, resulted in Mann's decision to resign from his position. Nakajima's biomedical approach to AIDS contrasted with Mann's broader social, economic, and human rights approach. This misalignment was compounded by personal dislike, mistrust, and disrespect. In addition to his frustrations with Nakajima, Mann had to contend with increasing donor dissatisfaction and competition for funding with new bilateral aid programs. To thwart efforts made by Nakajima to gain greater control of the relatively independent GPA and bring it more in alignment with the larger WHO structure, Mann encouraged GPA's Management Committee to launch an external review of the program.