HHS Secretary Begins Five-Day Trip to India; Visits HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Projects in Chennai

January 7, 2008 – HHS Secretary Michael O. Leavitt exchanges gifts with a group of young patients at the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine in Chennai, India.

January 7, 2008 – Today in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu State, the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), began a five-day visit to the Republic of India. Accompanied by the Honorable Anbumami Ramadoss, M.D., M.P., Indian Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, and the Honorable Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner of the HHS Food and Drug Administration, the Secretary visited the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine (GHTM) to see patients, including children, who suffer from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases. GHTM's treatment program receives support from the HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the auspices of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Secretary Leavitt later visited Chennai's prestigious, Jesuit-run Loyola College to help launch "Celebrating Life," an innovative HIV/AIDS curriculum aimed at youth, which encourages the "ABC" approach to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus. The curriculum also receives support from HHS/CDC under the Emergency Plan.

The Secretary also met formally with with Minister Ramadoss, and joined him to address a roundtable luncheon hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

On the trip, Secretary Leavitt is seeking to build on HHS' partnership with the Government of India on health and science, and to identify ways to enhance the quality and safety of Indian food, drugs, and medical products exported to the United States.

The trip is the Secretary's fourth trip to Asia since taking office at HHS, and his first to India. Later this week, Secretary Leavitt will visit the Indian cities of Hyderabad, Cochin, and New Delhi.

For more information:

• Photo Gallery of HHS Secretary Michael O. Leavitt’s Five-Day Visit to the Republic of India
• Fact Sheet: Working Together with India to Increase Scientific Knowledge, Develop and Evaluate Vaccines and Drugs, and Control, Prevent, and Eliminate Diseases
• Secretary Leavitt blogs from Chennai, India, on HIV/AIDS and import safety

Last revised: January 17, 2008