About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and leads the Office of Global Health Diplomacy.

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” — Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa

The impact of HIV and AIDS on children is devastating. To date, an estimated 16 million children have lost one or both parents due to AIDS, 90 percent of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. And despite dramatic advances in treatment this number is not yet declining . In addition, an estimated 3.4 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV, and millions more children are made vulnerable due to chronically ill parents or the social and economic effects of living in communities with high HIV prevalence.

These numbers clearly demonstrate how vulnerable children are to the social, emotional, economic, and environmental effects that… more »

About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and leads the Office of Global Health Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State.

As we recognize World Health Day today, we are reminded that disease knows no borders and that we share a common interest in global health concerns includingseeing a generation without AIDS, ending preventable child deaths, and building and strengthening sustainable health systems to meet the health challenges that affect us all. The U.S. government has been and will continue to be a leading contributor to achieve these goals, and the investment of the American people is having enormous impact. 

We also know, that as the world reduces the burden of infectious disease and child deaths, new… more »

About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and leads the Office of Global Health Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State.

This Sunday, March 24, is World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. Around the world, countries will mark the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium that causes TB. Since the 1980s, this day has also served as a rallying call to raise public awareness and recommit political will toward eliminating the disease. 

Today, TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa-accounting for 1,000 lives lost each day. Given this enormous human toll, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) continues to address the deadly links between TB and HIV as a top policy and programmatic priority. 

In November 2012,… more »

About the Author: Gene A. Cretz serves as U.S. Ambassador to Ghana.

A new year means new challenges and new opportunities. In my corner of West Africa, both were on display this week. On Monday, January 7, as I drove through the red, yellow, and green clad streets of Accra towards Independence Square, I reflected on how privileged I was to witness history in the making as Ghana’s fourth president of the Fourth Republic was on his way to the Square to be sworn in, after successfully concluding a hard-fought political campaign. Unfortunately, my previous diplomatic postings did not afford me an opportunity to see a peaceful assumption of power after a democratic election.

Witnessing the on-time arrival of dignitaries and convening of the new Parliament alongside a stage full of political leaders from across Africa and notably, Ghana’s former presidents John Kuffour, Jerry Rawlings and former Secretary General Kofi Annan was an unforgettable… more »

About the Author: Anita Botti serves as Chief of Staff and Principal Deputy in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues.

On the heels of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which ran from November 25 through December 10, the United States engaged with regional partners to spur action against GBV within our own hemisphere. Gender-based violence is a global epidemic that has no boundaries. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, every one of the Caribbean islands has a sexual violence rate that is higher than the world average.

From December 11 to 13, I had the privilege of being part of the first Caribbean Dialogue on Rule of Law and Gender-Based Violence, co-hosted by the Department of State and Florida International University (FIU) in Miami. Approximately 80 representatives from 12 countries of the… more »

About the Author: David Shear serves as U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.

Just like many other places around the world, here in Vietnam, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) team is commemorating World AIDS Day on December 1. As a tradition over the past several years, PEPFAR’s public diplomacy outreach takes place through multiple events across Vietnam, ranging from HIV/AIDS awareness concerts, photo exhibits and television shows, to drama performances and movie screenings.

PEPFAR continues to be the cornerstone of the U.S. Mission’s health diplomacy effort to strengthen diplomatic relations with the host government and the Vietnamese people since formal relations resumed in 1995. In Vietnam, people living with HIV/AIDS routinely face significant stigma and discrimination. Injecting drug use is the leading… more »

About the Author: Makila James serves as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland.

World AIDS Day in Swaziland has a particularly profound meaning, as Swaziland has the highest HIV prevalence rate in the world. The recent PEPFAR-supported Swaziland Health Incidence Measurement Survey (SHIMS) — the first such comprehensive survey of its kind on the impact of key HIV prevention programs — indicates that 31 percent of the adult population is living with HIV. It is a staggering number and one that all persons working in the health field in Swaziland has at the forefront of their minds each and every day as they participate in the national fight against the disease. Without a doubt, achieving an AIDS-free generation represents a serious challenge in the Kingdom of Swaziland, but one that we are committed to addressing with our many partners in the country.

The United States government is working… more »

About the Authors: Monjur Ahmed serves as Project Management Assistant for Communication in USAID/Bangladesh’s Office of Population, Health, Nutrition and Education, and Linda Quamar serves as Development Outreach and Communication Assistant in the USAID/Bangladesh Program Office.

Kajol, like many other young women from rural Bangladesh, came to Dhaka in search of employment. With the false promise of employment, she was abducted and forced into the sex trade. Later, Kajol came across one of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) HIV Prevention peer educators and was encouraged to leave her profession to pursue “a different life which would offer her acceptance and respect in the society.” Presently, Kajol works as a trainer for commercial sex workers (CSW) in USAID’s… more »

About the Author: Megan Petersen servers as the PEPAR Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe.

As we approach World AIDS Day, which we mark on December 1, I wanted to share a little bit about how we are carrying out the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Zimbabwe.

Every Tuesday morning, the Zimbabwe PEPFAR team gathers. Our meeting consists of colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the embassy’s public affairs section, the Global Fund, the Deputy Chief of Mission, and the PEPFAR Coordinator’s office. Our discussions are focused on the state of the world through the lens of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.

I am always impressed every Tuesday by the passion and expertise each of my colleagues brings to the table, the variety of programs we are managing on… more »

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote an opinion piece that appeared today on Global, Health, and Diplomacy. The text of the article follows below.

America and our partners have more than doubled the number of people who get AIDS drugs. We’ll soon cut maternal mortality by a quarter. How? The answer may surprise you.

When I became Secretary of State, I asked our diplomats and development experts: “How can we do better?” I could see our strengths, including tens of thousands of public servants who get up every day thinking about how to advance America’s interests and promote our values around the world. At the same time,… more »