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Karl Hofmann
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Karl Hofmann is the President and CEO of global health organization, PSI (www.psi.org). Mr. Hofmann is steering PSI on an ambitious plan to double its health impact in the areas of HIV, malaria, child survival, safe water and reproductive health, by 2012. Under his leadership, the organization is on target to achieve that goal.

Prior to joining PSI, Mr. Hofmann was a career American diplomat for 23 years. He served as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Togo, Executive Secretary of the Department of State, and Deputy Chief of Mission (senior career diplomat) at the American Embassy in Paris. Mr. Hofmann also served on President Clinton’s National Security Council staff. Mr. Hofmann is the recipient of the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, Superior Honors Awards, and Meritorious Honor Awards.

Mr. Hofmann’s years of living and working in Africa and the Caribbean (he also served in Morocco, Rwanda and Jamaica) have given him a deep understanding of development issues, including public health, especially HIV/AIDS. Mr. Hofmann is a graduate of Georgetown University and the National Defense University and is fluent in French, Spanish and German.

About PSI


With programs in malaria, reproductive health, child survival and HIV prevention, PSI promotes products, services and healthy behaviors that enable low-income and vulnerable people to lead healthier lives. In 2007 alone, PSI helped prevent 19 million malaria episodes and 140,000 malaria deaths; 2.6 million unintended pregnancies; 3.8 million cases of diarrhea; and 156,000 new HIV infections.

In 2007, PSI was awarded an unprecedented second Social Capitalist Award by Fast Company magazine during his first year. The award recognizes non-profits who use the tools of business to solve the world’s most pressing social problems — ranging from substandard healthcare in developing nations to unequal education access, homelessness, unemployment and substance abuse in the United States — and who have demonstrated a consistent and unusually large impact on society.

PSI was also lauded in 2007 by Givewell (www.givewell.net) as the most efficient saver of lives in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Blog Entries by Karl Hofmann

What Male Circumcision Taught Us About the Future of Funding for Global Health

(1) Comments | Posted April 1, 2013 | 11:55 AM

Private capital is needed to test and develop proof that existing health solutions can be adapted to a developing world context. Once this proof is established, the solution has the power to unlock the large-scale government funding needed to dramatically improve health across the developing world.

As demonstrated in...

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Cancer in the Developing World: An Under-Prioritized Threat to Health and Development

(2) Comments | Posted February 6, 2013 | 9:31 AM

The rise of hundreds of millions of people out of poverty during the past 50 years is a story of tremendous, unprecedented human progress. A significant factor in this success has been the global community's coordinated effort to tackle serious health and economic barriers, like HIV, malaria, pneumonia, and lack...

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Even From Davos, Family Planning Gets a Fresh Look

(0) Comments | Posted January 25, 2013 | 10:55 AM

2012 may be remembered for many things good and bad, but one undeniably positive story is the way in which family planning and women's reproductive choices and rights came back into the sunlight after too many years in the shadows of the global health and development agenda.

The July...

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10 Global Health Achievements in 2011

(6) Comments | Posted December 29, 2011 | 10:07 AM

The year 2011 brought with it a number of milestones for the global health community.

Despite real economic pressures and many competing priorities, across the world, governments, private companies, foundations, doctors, and individual volunteers worked to create a world where opportunity and hope are not crippled by poor health....

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In a Big Risk-Taking Mood?

(0) Comments | Posted October 4, 2011 | 5:32 PM

This autumn, as Congress enters tense budget discussions, U.S. taxpayers are asking legitimate questions. Amid economic instability and worries at home, Americans are scrutinizing where their tax dollars are going and who they are helping. In particular, Americans often ask, why do we spend so many of our tax dollars...

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World Malaria Day: Our Work Is Not Over

(0) Comments | Posted April 25, 2011 | 7:07 PM

"Baseball and Malaria keep coming back."

So said famed baseball player and manager Gene Mauch. Our objective on World Malaria Day -- today, April 25 -- is to show that the second part of Mauch's statement no longer has the certainty of baseball.

2010 was the biggest year in...

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Davos, the MDGs -- and What's Missing

(0) Comments | Posted February 1, 2011 | 9:30 AM

I just returned from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. More than 2,500 business, civil society, religious, governmental and youth leaders, from "tech pioneers" to "young global leaders" to business tycoons. Bill Gates and Bono dropped by, too many prime ministers to count -- even...

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Addressing a Global Killer This World Pneumonia Day

(1) Comments | Posted November 11, 2010 | 5:31 PM

Take a deep breath and hold it.

Do you remember the last time you had a cough or shortness of breath? For millions of kids in the developing world, seemingly benign common cold symptoms can be a death sentence.

Aung Soe was 2 years old when she developed...

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On World Water Week 2010

(0) Comments | Posted August 31, 2010 | 1:29 PM

In the time it takes you to read this post, another eight children in developing countries will have died from water-related illnesses. That, I think we can all agree, is no way to start the school year.

In fact, at least 1.6 million children from developing countries won't be...

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Let Women Deliver For Us All

(0) Comments | Posted June 8, 2010 | 4:30 PM

In April, the Lancet released some encouraging statistics on maternal health: maternal deaths dropped from about 526,000 in 1980 to around 340,000 maternal deaths worldwide in 2008.
This is a decline worth celebrating, but not a reason to pull back; if anything, this study should drive us to do...

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Lessons From Africa: The Leadership Spark

(1) Comments | Posted May 13, 2010 | 12:12 PM

The world has poured billions of dollars into Africa in recent decades trying to address poverty, disease and malnutrition. We know that progress has been too slow, and too uneven.

Last week, many eyes were turned toward Tanzania, where some of the world's brightest minds gathered...

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Meetings, Ministers and the Least Appealing of all Causes

(0) Comments | Posted April 26, 2010 | 11:36 AM

There are lots of "high-level meetings" in Washington, but this weekend's High Level Meeting on Sanitation and Safe Water for All deserves more than the usual cynicism. For the first time ever, Finance and Water Ministers from around the world are gathering together to focus on that most basic of...

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Reflections on Haiti

(0) Comments | Posted January 21, 2010 | 5:35 PM

For more than 20 years, PSI has worked in Haiti and with Haitians to help improve the lives of vulnerable populations there. The January 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince was devastating to our staff, knocked the wind out of our operations, and scarred the hearts of all of us who know...

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Hope for Uganda's Women

(0) Comments | Posted November 16, 2009 | 10:00 AM

I wanted to introduce you to one of my colleagues: Julius Lukwago, Director of Marketing and Communications at PSI's affiliate organization in Uganda, PACE. Julius has been working on PACE programs to improve maternal and child health since 2004 and he's currently leading our presence at the International Conference...

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Pneumonia: Why Do We Let It Get Away With This Much?

(0) Comments | Posted November 1, 2009 | 9:43 PM

Did you know there was a "World Pneumonia Day"? It may not sound very exciting, but the toll this treatable disease takes on children around the world should make you sit up and take note. In the time it takes you to read this post, at least six more kids...

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Achieving Sustainable Impact at Scale

(0) Comments | Posted June 25, 2009 | 2:19 PM

I was privileged to participate in the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town this month, along with the rest of the PSI (Population Services International) team. More than 800 leaders of business, government, civil society and the NGO world were in attendance, to talk specifically about meeting Africa's...

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Tackling Malaria: Making Headway Against a Killer

(0) Comments | Posted May 1, 2009 | 2:36 PM

News about global health is often sobering. I'd like to highlight something the international community is increasingly getting right: tackling malaria.

We've been fighting mosquito-borne disease since 800 B.C. though - officially - the "global fight" started in 1955, when the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the first Global Malaria...

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Making Ripples This World Water Day

(2) Comments | Posted March 25, 2009 | 6:48 PM

Dirty drinking water has always been a problem -- a big one. In the mid-1800s, water-related diseases killed hundreds of thousands of Americans -- including our eleventh president, James K. Polk.

These days we take safe drinking water for granted. But unsafe water continues to kill -- and the...

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