Callisto Madavo welcomed as new chair of the Alliance board
07 November 2006
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance is delighted to welcome Professor Callisto Madavo as the new chair of its board of trustees. Callisto takes over from George Zeidenstein, who has stepped down as the founding chair of the Alliance’s board after 13 years.
“We are delighted to welcome Callisto in this new role, and look forward to reaping the benefits of the expertise he brings to the position,” said Alliance Executive Director Alvaro Bermejo.
“At the same time, we would also like to recognise the enormous contribution that George Zeidenstein has made to the Alliance’s direction and development, and wish him all the very best for the future.”
Callisto has extensive development work experience, covering a wide range of country programme issues. He has held a range of senior positions at the World Bank, focusing on economic growth and poverty reduction, and on promoting good governance, along with private sector development, post-conflict programmes, and social sector development. He is currently a visiting professor to the African Studies Programme at Georgetown University, Washington, United States, where he teaches a course on African Development at the university’s School of Foreign Service.
While at the World Bank, Callisto chaired the bank's task force on capacity development in Africa, producing a report entitled ‘Building Effective States, Forging Engaged Societies’ which concluded that capacity is the missing link in Africa’s achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Both an effective state and an engaged society are needed, the report said, to reach the end goals of poverty reduction, growth and security. It goes on to say that effective states require engaged societies that demand change and hold governments accountable. As chair of the board for the Alliance – an organisation founded on a community approach that can help forge these engaged societies – Callisto hopes to complement his work of many years at the World Bank, while contributing to the AIDS response.
Steven Sinding, formerly the director general of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and a professor at Columbia University, is also welcomed as a new trustee for the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
