Nelson Mandela declared AIDS “a world war that affects us all” in a July speech as the British Red Cross honored him with its Humanity Fellowship Award...President Bush tapped Randall Tobias — a major GOP contributor and ex-CEO of pharma giant Eli Lilly and Co.— to coordinate his global AIDS initiative, raising questions about Bush’s implied promise of cheap generics...Haile Debas, MD, retiring med-school dean at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), was appointed to a new UN commission advising African governments on HIV and development...Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation chair David Kessler, MD, succeeds Debas at UCSF, an HIV-research powerhouse...A belated tribute is due to gay-rights pioneer John E. Fryer, MD, one of the first psychiatrists to specialize in treating HIVers. He died of a degenerative lung disease February 21 at 65.