Deborah Von Zinkernagel, Principal Deputy Coordinator for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), will hold a conversation with Dr. Shannon Hader, Vice President and Director, Center for Health Systems and Solutions at Futures Group and Chris Austin, President, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer of Washington, D.C. The discussion will explore the transformative role the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has played in the world’s commitment to create an… 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: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and head of the Office of Global Health Diplomacy.

2012 was an extraordinary year.

As of September 30, 2012, PEPFAR directly supported lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART) for nearly 5.1 million people — a nearly three-fold increase since 2008. PEPFAR also supported drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission for nearly 750,000 HIV-positive women in 2012 alone, allowing approximately 230,000 infants to be born HIV-free, and HIV testing and counseling for more than 46.5 million people over the same time period.

These are not just statistics but they represent lives saved, and hope renewed for millions of families and communities. A decade ago, almost no one in Africa was receiving treatment. Today, over 8 million men, women, and children in developing countries are on ART, with the vast majority of… more »

About the Author: Wanda Nesbitt serves as U.S. Ambassador to Namibia.

Last week, we commemorated World AIDS Day around the globe. We remembered the friends, family, and strangers whose lives were cut short by AIDS. We also recognized those living with the disease: individuals who, because of medication and counseling, are enjoying life, raising families, and who continue to be productive members of their communities. Here in Namibia, the United States, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is working closely with the people and Government of Namibia to prevent new HIV infections, provide lifesaving HIV treatment to those who need it, and help put an end to AIDS in the country.

On November 29, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced… 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 »