This archive report was first published on 15 August 2019.
On August 15, 2019, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Oxfam International executive director Winnie Byanyima as the new UNAids executive director.
Byanyima, a Ugandan, has held several roles affiliated to the governance of the African Union and has influenced the international agenda at the United Nations through her leadership in many coalitions of civil society organisations.
She has been the Oxfam executive director for six years since her appointment in January 2013.
Byanyima will take over from Malian Michel Sidibé who stepped down in May following accusations of serious mismanagement, including creating a patriarchal culture that tolerated harassment and abuse of authority.
According to an Independent Expert Panel report, the agency's culture under Sidibé also failed to uphold the United Nations' laws and values.
Sidibe left UNAids after a decade-long tenure to become Mali's health minister, despite being reprimanded for mishandling a sexual assault investigation involving one of his top deputies.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres praised Sidibé despite the controversy, saying he brought a wealth of experience to the role.
However, Aids experts voiced concern over the future of the UN body under Sidibé's divisive leadership.
Byanyima, 60, said she was 'honoured' to be joining UNAids 'at such a critical time in the response to HIV', and expressed her commitment to ending the pandemic by 2030.
Aids-related illnesses have killed 35 million people since the first cases were reported more than 35 years ago.
