Annan appoints new envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has appointed a senior official from the regional office in the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO) as his Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.

George Alleyne will be responsible for ensuring follow-up in the region to the UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS and the Pan-Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS. He will work closely with Caribbean leaders, the UN team and resident coordinators, the Executive Director of the UN Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Peter Piot, as well as the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Edwin Carrington.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Alleyne was Director of the Pan American Sanitary Bureau (PASB), in WHO's Regional Office from February 1995 until January 2003. His career also includes an appointment as Professor of Medicine at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 1972, and four years as Chair of the Department of Medicine. He holds a degree in medicine from UWI and completed postgraduate training in Britain and the United States.