HEAD OF GLOBAL DISEASE GROUP RESIGNS

Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, has announced he will leave the Geneva-based organization in July, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Mr. Feachem said he wanted to return to the Bay Area, where he lived previously. The fund was established by the United Nations and supported by wealthy countries and foundations to fight the three diseases in Africa and other impoverished parts of the world. While the fund has committed $4.9-billion to programs in 131 countries since its inception in 2002, it has failed to reach its goal of providing $7-billion to $10-billion a year for health efforts.