Barbara Hogan, Paul Farmer, Eric Goosby and More

And now for a little global health gossip--in between reading dispatches from the World Health Assembly, which is meeting in Geneva this week . . .

Barbara Hogan is out as South Africa's Health Minister--just a few days after being named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. Was she too outspoken about the need for greater transparency and accountability for South Africa's AIDS treatment programs? Too critical about the government's refusal to issue a visa to the Dalai Lama? Is the ANC government that petty? Or is this just normal shuffling of cabinet positions? South Africa watchers are taking a watch-and-see approach--especially since the new Health Minister, who comes from Limpopo, is not widely known.

Paul Farmer has told colleagues he is contemplating a possible position with the U.S. government.

And in other news,

Eric Goosby, who has been tapped by President Obama to replace Mark Dybul as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (head of PEPFAR), will be speaking at the Global Business Coalition on AIDS annual conference June 23-24 in Washington, DC. Dybul will be there as well in his new role as co-director, with Larry Gostin, of the Global Health Law Center at Georgetown University. (Dybul joined Georgetown in February).

Thomas Frieden, New York City's health commissioner, is Obama's pick to head up the Centers for Disease Control. Revere, in his unique way, highlights some of the challenges Frieden will face.

And if you're in Washington, D.C. for the Global Health Coalition annual conference, don't miss Katrin Verclas on Wednesday morning, May 27. She organized the excellent barcamp conference on Mobile Tech For Social Change that I attended in New York City back in February and is a crackerjack organizer and advocate for what mobile phones can do for health, finance, accessing the Internet, changing the world.

Oh, and this just in. . . the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, just won the $1 million Gates Award for Global Health, given out each year at the Global Health Coalition meeting.