By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. at NYTimes.com

Ambassador Eric Goosby, the Obama administration’s global AIDS czar, was named to lead a new Office of Global Health Diplomacy on Friday, the State Department said. Dr. Goosby will continue to head Pepfar, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which pays for prevention and treatment. His new role was welcomed by some advocacy groups and U.N.AIDS, the United Nations agency. Chris Collins, policy chief for AmFAR, which promotes AIDS research, said high-level diplomacy was crucial to getting countries to spend more on their epidemics, and to asking them to stop ignoring politically unpopular victims like gay men, drug users and prostitutes. Also on Friday, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services, created a post in her department, assistant secretary for global affairs, and appointed Dr. Nils Daulaire to it.