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/-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Explore more of Starbucks at Starbucks.com. http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?ci=1015 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Bush Chooses U.S. Executive for AIDS Job July 3, 2003 By ELISABETH BUMILLER WASHINGTON, July 2 - On the eve of a presidential visit to Africa, President Bush today nominated Randall Tobias, a former chairman and chief executive of Eli Lilly & Company, to run a $15 billion program to fight AIDS worldwide. Mr. Tobias, a major donor to Mr. Bush and the Republican Party, and a resident of Indianapolis, has little experience with AIDS issues or with Africa, where most of the program's money will be directed. But the president hailed Mr. Tobias in the Roosevelt Room of the White House this morning as "one of America's most talented and respected executives," and a man who "has shown the ability to manage complex organizations and to navigate government bureaucracies." If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Tobias, 61, will have the rank of ambassador and will report directly to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who has said he regards AIDS as the pre-eminent crisis facing the world today. Mr. Tobias will direct a new State Department office and will have broad influence, Mr. Bush said, over all the government's anti-AIDS programs and resources. "Randy Tobias has a mandate directly from me to get our AIDS initiative up and running as soon as possible," Mr. Bush said. Mr. Tobias, in prepared remarks in the Roosevelt Room, said that "the statistics that describe the H.I.V./AIDS pandemic are really nearly incomprehensible" but that he would approach his new job "with enthusiasm and with optimism." AIDS groups said they were surprised by the nomination of Mr. Tobias, which was first reported on Tuesday in The Washington Post. Some AIDS experts said they were apprehensive about Mr. Tobias' lack of experience in Africa and with AIDS, and his close ties to the pharmaceutical industry, which has fought the use of generic drugs. The issue is of great importance, because brand-name anti-AIDS drugs can cost $10,000 to $12,000 a year per patient in the United States. But generic anti-AIDS drugs can cost as little as $300 per patient per year in poor nations. Mr. Bush promised today to move quickly to get low-cost anti-retroviral medications into the hands of poor patients, but some AIDS groups said they were still skeptical about Mr. Tobias. "We're concerned about whether or not he can be an honest broker," said Paul Zeitz, the executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance. "He'll be protecting the interests of the pharmaceutical industry versus cost-effective generically manufactured drugs." Other AIDS groups said they would reserve judgment on Mr. Tobias. "There does seem to be some management acumen and the ability to pull a lot of levers," said Mark Isaac, vice president of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Mr. Bush signed the administration's initiative to fight AIDS worldwide into law on May 27. The program is to provide $15 billion over five years, a tripling of the existing amount. It will go to prevention and treatment programs in 12 African nations as well as Haiti and Guyana. Mr. Tobias, who was also chairman and chief executive of AT&T International, was named C.E.O. of the Year by Working Mother magazine in 1996 for what the publication said were his family-friendly policies at Eli Lilly. He stepped down from Lilly in 1999, and more recently has thrown his political support behind Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., a former Lilly executive and the recently departed White House budget director who is now running for governor of Indiana. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/international/africa/03AIDS.html?ex=1058221838&ei=1&en=fff4d2c31a23a6b2 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! 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