Canada: Lewis to Say Bye to UN, Hello to McMaster

On Thursday, Stephen Lewis confirmed he is planning to leave his post as the UN's special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa and join the faculty of McMaster University. Lewis will be a scholar-in-residence with the Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition at the Ontario university. Lewis, whose one-year tenure begins July 1, said he expects his UN successor to be appointed as early as August. Lewis said he told the UN of the "oddity of a white Canadian representing Africa. It made sense at the outset because I've been engaged with Africa much of my life. It runs out of credibility over time, so I've been talking to the UN about the appointment of an African, preferably an African woman." Lewis will teach graduate and undergraduate students at the university, and he intends to join with global nongovernmental organizations and politicians to create an international women's agency dealing with developing-world issues.

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