The Obama administration has requested that Mark Dybul immediately resign from his position as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and administrator of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, CQ HealthBeat reports. An e-mail sent Thursday to U.S. foreign aid officials said that Dybul is "no longer serving" as PEPFAR administrator and that the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator "will continue to function under the leadership of career staff until a successor is confirmed."

Dybul has overseen PEPFAR, which Congress reauthorized in July 2008 for an additional five years, since 2006. Dybul in an e-mail to his staff earlier this month said he would continue to serve as PEPFAR administrator, at least temporarily, "beyond the inauguration" of President Obama. According to CQ HealthBeat, many global health advocates were disappointed by the earlier announcement that Dybul would continue to serve as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (Semnani, CQ HealthBeat, 1/23).