US Mission Geneva

On World AIDS Day, we commemorate the lives lost and communities devastated by HIV/AIDS. We also celebrate those lives that have been saved and the courageous individuals who have brought hope and healing to those living with and affected by this disease.

New PEPFAR data show for the first time that the AIDS epidemic is becoming controlled in older adults and babies in three key African countries – Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe – where the program has significantly invested. New pediatric HIV infections globally have declined by nearly 70 percent since 2000, and there are significant validated declines in adult HIV incidence across Malawi (76 percent), Zambia (51 percent), and Zimbabwe (67 percent) since 2003.

The United States is the first and largest donor to the Global Fund. On August 31, 2016, the United States committed up to $4.3 billion through 2019 to the Global Fund’s Fifth Replenishment, subject to Congressional appropriations.

Over the past eight years, President Obama has elevated sustainable development to a core pillar of American foreign policy. On Wednesday July 20th, the President will host the White House Summit on Global Development, bringing together development leaders, public and private sector financing partners, civil society, diplomats, and entrepreneurs to mark our global progress and catalyze further development efforts.

Ambassador Samantha Power: If we are to have any hope of accomplishing the SDGs – which includes a target to end the AIDS epidemic, we have to guard space for civil society both within our own countries and here at the United Nations.

If we are to truly get on the fast track to ending the AIDS epidemic, we need to surround vulnerable populations – in particular adolescent girls and young women – with comprehensive support and services in every aspect of their lives. Time and again, research and experience have shown that holistic, multi-sectoral responses lead to better outcomes for women and girls, and therefore for their families and their communities.

Thirty-five years ago, this Sunday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report describing cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, in five young, previously healthy, gay men in Los Angeles. One year later, the CDC used the term “AIDS” to describe this condition for the first time. The world – and many of us who were there – would never be the same.

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary Washington, DC December 1, 2015   FACT SHEET: World AIDS Day 2015 – The Time to Act Is Now   Today, in conjunction with World AIDS Day, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy is releasing the Federal Action Plan for 2016-2020, which outlines specific Federal agency […]

President Obama announced that PEPFAR is now investing nearly half a billion dollars to support an AIDS-free future for adolescent girls and young women, including by strategically aligning $300 million in prevention investments in support of our DREAMS partnership and related efforts.