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Not only did Joseph have a wonderful wit and sense of repartee, but he had a brilliant mind, one that was only overshadowed by the splendour of his heart. A student of classical literature and public administration, a Rudin Scholar and holder of several other distinctions and awards, and a speaker of Dutch, Italian, and French in addition to his native English, Joseph dedicated himself to the common good and his career to the public sector.

Joseph moved up quickly to a United Nations post in Rome as Project Manager for the International Fund for Agricultural Development, where he focused on linking the project and funding sides of IFAD projects in the field. It was at the cusp of this successful time in his life that he discovered he was HIV positive.

When his health began to fail in 1995 he left for the Netherlands to die in the care and love of his best friend, Paul Roozenburg. With the then brand new combination antiretroviral therapies, to his own great surprise, he found himself soon resuscitated, gaining weight, and growing stronger. He was one of the lucky few. He was alive because he had the fortune to be living in a rich, Western country, and he knew it. From then on, he would have to work for others affected by HIV so they too could find life again.

In 1998, he became International Coordinator of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+). He learned to fundraise on a large-scale, to build sustainable international partnerships and how to help people living with HIV/AIDS and non-governmental organizations of all calibres to work closely with the private sector, with the United Nations System and with large international health agencies.

Having made lasting tremendous improvements for GNP+, in 2001, he moved on to become manager of the STOP AIDS NOW! Foundation, an initiative of Aids Fonds, the Dutch AIDS foundation, together with four Dutch development agencies. Here he conceived and breathed life into numerous key projects and collaborations. The brand new partnership with the Association of Netherlands Municipalities and the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa and the International HIV Treatment Access Coalition stand out especially.

In addition, he represented GNP+ on the Transitional Working Group established to set-up the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. It is through his unflagging advocacy and leadership, his shrewd negotiation skills, and his extraordinary ability to build coalitions that, today, three seats on the Global Fund Board are assigned to NGO representatives, two of whom are living with HIV. On the day of his death, he was about to embark on yet another partnership, this time with the two major labor unions in the Netherlands.

In losing Joseph, we have not lost the struggle against AIDS. Joseph accomplished too much for that to be true. He has left us, however, with an enormous responsibility: to sustain the work he completed, to finish what he started, and to draw from his enthusiasm and intelligence to begin lasting projects of our own. For his sake and for the sake of the 42 million people infected with HIV to whom he dedicated his life, we must cast aside the heavy weight in our hearts and get back to work.

Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS