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

I was honored to be asked by Secretary Clinton to lead the new Office of Global Health Diplomacy. I am proud to serve my country in this capacity while also remaining the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. I am equally delighted that a skilled and seasoned diplomat like Ambassador Leslie Rowe has agreed to join me in establishing the new Global Health Diplomacy Office in the State Department. We have seen first-hand in countries around the world that America’s investments in global health not only improve and save lives, they build stronger families, communities and nations and contribute to economic growth. And stronger and more stable nations abroad mean a stronger and more stable America.

Increasingly, our investments are also enabling countries to build the health systems they need to provide care… 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: 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 »

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 »

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby, M.D. delivers keynote remarks at a Health Affairs briefing entitled, “Assessing The President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief: Past Achievements And Future Prospects For PEPFAR.” on July 10, 2012. [Go to http://video.state.gov for more video and text transcript.]