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 »

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks in recognition of World AIDS Day at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on November 29, 2012. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/11/201198.htm.

About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

Success motivates action. All of us are much more willing to continue to invest in something that has produced results than in something that hasn’t.

As we approach World AIDS Day, we now have a tremendous track record of success from U.S. investments in fighting global AIDS. A decade ago, an HIV diagnosis in Africa was essentially a death sentence. Today, through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the American people support nearly 5.1 million people on antiretroviral treatment. That treatment is the difference between life and death, allowing people to continue to raise and provide for their families — and build their nations.

Seeking to build on this success, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for PEPFAR to develop what she called a “Blueprint for an AIDS-Free Generation.” She asked us to provide the next Congress,… more »

Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 29, 2012

“The goal of an AIDS-free generation may be ambitious, but it is possible with the knowledge and interventions we have right now. And that is something we’ve never been able to say without qualification before. Imagine what the world will look like when we succeed.”

- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, November 8, 2011

Background

On November 8, 2011, Secretary Clinton declared that, for the first time in history, the world is at the point where an AIDS-free generation is in sight. And at the July 2012 International AIDS Conference, the Secretary called on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to produce a blueprint outlining how the United States will contribute to reaching this goal.

Secretary Clinton defined an AIDS-free generation as one where virtually no children are born with HIV; where, as these children become teenagers and adults, they are at far lower risk of becoming infected than they would be today; and where those who do acquire HIV have access to treatment that helps prevent them from developing AIDS and passing the virus on to others. Creating an AIDS-free generation is an ambitious, but reachable, goal—and now a policy imperative of the United States. 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 »

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 27, 2012

Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, will host the third meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) October 2-3.

The meeting will take place at the House of Sweden Event Center, 2900 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The meeting will run from 9 a.m. until approximately 5 p.m. October 2, and from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. October 3. It is open to the press and to the public on a space-limited basis.

The Board serves the Global AIDS Coordinator in an advisory capacity concerning scientific, implementation, and policy issues related to the global HIV/AIDS response. These issues inform the priorities and direction of PEPFAR evaluation and research, the content of national and international strategies and their implementation, and the role of PEPFAR in the international discourse regarding appropriate and resourced responses.

Agenda topics for the meeting include: an update on PEPFAR-funded combination prevention evaluations, discussion about key populations, and recommendations to PEPFAR on issues related to linkage and retention of patients in the care and treatment cascade.

The public may attend this meeting as seating capacity allows. Admittance to the meeting will be by means of a pre-arranged clearance list. In order to be placed on the list, please register by sending your name, title, organization/affiliation, and contact information to SABRegistration@s-3.com. While the meeting is open to public attendance, the Board will determine procedures for public participation and announce those procedures at the meeting.

For further information, contact Megan Wolf at the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator at (202) 663-2440 orWolfMN@state.gov.

About the Author: Ambassador Eric Goosby serves as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

This week at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, world leaders are coming together to move the world’s health and development agenda forward.

Among the key agenda items is securing a better future for children — which is also a central focus of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Meeting the needs of children, including both children living with HIV and those affected by the disease in other ways, is not peripheral to PEPFAR’s mission — it is central.

The reality is that PEPFAR is the largest contributor to the global response to the needs of vulnerable children affected by AIDS. It’s a responsibility, and an opportunity as part of our push toward an AIDS-free generation.

But what does achieving an AIDS-free… more »

About the Author: Eboni Bell serves as an Assistant Editor for DipNote.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” comes to us from the U.S. Embassy in Malawi, where Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton participated in a Feed the Future event at the Lumbadzi Milk Bulking center on August 5, 2012. In this photograph, dairy farmer Margaret Chinkwende describes her work to the Secretary of State.

At the event, Secretary Clinton remarked, “For the past decade, the United States has been supporting Malawi’s dairy sector, including this center. And thanks to your work and the support we have given you, Malawi’s milk production has increased 500 percent. Thousands of farmers have benefited. I was delighted to meet some of the farmers and the workers here. And I want to thank all of you. I’m also proud… more »

Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Delft South Clinic
Cape Town, South Africa
August 8, 2012

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, it is such a great pleasure and honor to be with all of you here today to mark a new chapter in our country’s shared fight against HIV/AIDS.

And I so well remember that meeting three years ago with the Minister and with my colleague, Dr. Eric Goosby, Ambassador Goosby. We were looking for ways to be helpful. We were quite pleased at the strong position taken by President Zuma and his government. And we knew that Minister Motsoaledi had been given a huge task.

I have to tell you just personally, but also on behalf of the American team who are here, who have worked on this, we are very grateful to you, Minister, because it is one thing to – (applause) – be given a very important and difficult task, as you were, and it’s something even more important to have implemented so successfully. And to all the members of the South Africa team, at the national level, at the provincial and local level, we are very, very impressed and very grateful for what we have seen happen these last three years.

So I, of course, want to thank the Minister. Also Mayor, thank you. Mayor de Lille, thank you for being here. MEC Botha, thank you. Dr. Grimwood, Sister de Villiers, thank you all for welcoming us here today. MORE. 

Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Table Bay Hotel
Cape Town, South Africa
August 8, 2012

Well, it’s always a pleasure being in Cape Town, and I remember exploring Cape Town for the first time with Erica, and it’s just wonderful seeing someone who has loved this city for so long coming back and leading our consulate. And it’s also especially touching that her husband is leading our consulate in Durban. And he was with me in Pretoria yesterday, and between the two of them, they are a dynamic duo for American diplomacy.

I also very much – yes – (applause) – you can give them both a round of applause. Thank you. I’m also very, very pleased to be joined by the Ambassador – Ambassador Gips and Liz Gips, who – Liz Berry Gips, right? – who is just a terrific partner to the Ambassador in everything he’s doing on behalf of our relationship with the country. Don and Liz and their three sons have just made a tremendous difference in connecting up people to people and in civil society and NGOs, as well as the day-to-day work between our governments.

And I’m here to say thank you. Thank you for everything you all do every single day on behalf of this really vital relationship. I just finished speaking at the Western Cape University about the importance of the relationship between the United States and South Africa, not only with respect to what we do between our two countries, but what we must do throughout the world. And you are doing an excellent job of carrying our values, promoting our interests, and deepening our relationship. MORE.