SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT WORLD AIDS DAY EVENT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at a World AIDS Day Event
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Washington, DC
December 1, 2014

Susan, thank you.  Thank you for a wonderfully generous introduction and thank you most importantly for your extremely important comments this morning.  And I was really sitting there thinking, as I was listening to you, the thought was occurring to me as we think of the challenges that we face in today’s world, and you were talking about both the moral compulsion of doing this as well as making the important new announcements that you were making.  And as I think about the things we do in the world, whether it’s the fact that we are the largest contributor to refugees with respect to the problem of Syria, or whether we are leading a charge to try to deal with Ebola now in addition to other things, but of all the things in the world that the United States can take pride in, this has to be one of the single biggest and most important.  This is such an incredible statement about America’s values, about our commitment, about our willingness to take on tough challenges.  And for all the nations who push back, the fact is we are making a difference and we are getting it done.

And I thank you personally, Susan, because your commitment to fighting this epidemic goes back decades.  I know that when you were head of African Affairs in the State Department, you were way ahead of the curve, not just defining this as a health crisis but also as a human rights crisis.  And I thank you for that.  You’ve wrestled with many of the real-time challenges that we face here for a long time, from expanding treatment capacity to access to building a long-term delivery system, and we are very grateful for your leadership and for the President’s leadership.  It continues.

I want to thank Secretary Burwell.  And I think it’s fair to say that the AIDS outreach led by the Secretary and HHS literally sets the gold standard globally, and we’re very proud of that.  I’m also grateful to Valerie Jarrett, to Tony Fauci, to Rajiv Shah, to Debbi Birx sitting here.  Debbi, thanks for your great job.  Mark Dybul, thank you for what you’re doing.  Dana Hyde, Gayle Smith, everybody – it’s such a team effort.  And I think we all can take pride in what the Peace Corps is doing, the MCC, DOD.  This is an all-hands-on-deck initiative.

There are so many AIDS warriors here in this room, and those of you tuned in who are livestreaming – scientists and public servants, and Republicans and Democrats, across all ideologies and lines – all of whom have put ideology and partisanship aside in order to embrace a universal vision.  And it’s a vision that is much bigger than any of us individually and bigger than any country.

As this gathering knows better than anybody, the fight against HIV/AIDS, as Susan just underscored, does remain an enduring challenge.  But thanks to landmark scientific advances, and frankly, thanks to the grit and determination of so many of you here in this room, the fact is we do have, as the President said, an AIDS-free generation in sight.  That is, in and of itself, an absolutely remarkable accomplishment.

And I will tell you, Susan referred to the days in the Senate – back in 1991, when Bill Frist and I had the privilege of chairing a Center for Strategic and International Studies first-ever task force on this subject that we knew precious little about, it was even difficult politically for some people to talk about it publicly.  The barrier was enormous.  And back then, the primary response to HIV/AIDS was fear – fear of contracting it, fear of those who had it, fear that in some cases even learning about it or taking steps to contain or to stop it might somehow be dangerous.

As recently as 10 years ago, as Susan said – she mentioned also a five-year demarcation point which is quite critical with respect to President Obama’s commitment to take this to a new level – it seemed like this would be a death sentence for an entire continent.  That’s how we looked at it.  And many predicted that the virus was beyond our control and that there was no way that we could possibly turn the tide.

Well, the tide is turning.  And it’s not a done deal, we know that.  This morning at our meeting in the State Department, Raj Shah cautioned all of us, and so did Debbi, about the challenges that are ahead.  But make no mistake, because of your efforts we are now reaching more people and saving more lives than ever before.

And when the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief first was launched in 2003, there were then some 10,000 infections daily.  Today, new HIV infections are down by nearly 40 percent, though still higher, obviously, than we want them to be.  Back then, more than 2 million people died from AIDS-related causes on a worldwide basis.  Today, we’ve cut those numbers by 34 percent.  Back then, AIDS threatened to wipe out a whole generation, leaving behind 14 million orphans and vulnerable children.  Today, we’ve slashed new infections among children in half.

So it is fair to say that we have achieved much of this because President Obama, when he came into office, was determined to set a higher standard.  And as you’ve heard directly from the President, PEPFAR is now supporting lifesaving anti-retroviral drug treatment for 7.7 million men, women, and children.  We’re providing HIV testing and counseling to more than 14 million pregnant women.  We’ve supported more than 6.5 million voluntary medical male circumcisions.  We’re training more than 140,000 new health care workers to deliver HIV and other health-related services in AIDS-affected countries, and we are mobilizing resources strategically to support UNAIDS’s 90-90-90 global targets.

So it is clear that we are at a real turning point, but emphasis today – battle not yet won.  There are major challenges ahead and they will require major commitments if we’re going to control the HIV/AIDS pandemic and achieve this AIDS-free generation that is our dream.

So first, we need to continue to make creative and strategic investments that are based on the latest science.  Only by sharing and using data efficiently are we going to be able to improve interventions and hold ourselves accountable.  That’s why I’m pleased to announce a new partnership between PEPFAR and the Millennium Challenge Corporation to promote even greater data transparency and use as part of our Country Health Partnerships.  We’re going to work with countries to create local data hubs, and these hubs are going to include key data to help countries control the disease – health, poverty, gender, you name it – and we will work with countries to set clear benchmarks and improve strategic planning, budget transparency, and decision making for better programming and sustainable results.

Second, we need to focus on the impact of HIV/AIDS on children, young women, and vulnerable populations.  And Susan was mentioning this incredible statistic about young women.  And that is why the United States announcement of a new partnership this summer between PEPFAR and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation called Accelerating Children’s HIV/AIDS Treatment, or ACT, is so important.

Today, I am pleased to share the names of the ACT participating countries, and it’s a reflection of the hard work that everybody has done: Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  These countries will lead the way in an effort to double the total number of children on lifesaving anti-retroviral therapy over the next two years.

We are also announcing a new global pediatric anti-retroviral commitment to action with our partners to accelerate the development of new anti-retroviral drugs for the children who need them most.  And this is a vital transformation.

Finally, we need to build sustainable health systems.  I don’t think that’s come home to us more than in the past months with respect to Ebola.  We all know that a central pillar of an effective health system is capable and experienced health care workforce.  Over the past 11 years, PEPFAR investments have strengthened health systems in developing countries, but we need to build on these results and we still have a long way to go.

And so today I am announcing PEPFAR’s new human resources for health strategy.  What we’re talking about here is a multi-million dollar effort that will strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers to deliver lifesaving HIV services.  This strategy will mark the next phase of the medical and nursing education partnership with Health and Human Services, and it will build on the global health service partnership with Peace Corps and Seed Global Health.  Our investment will improve clinical education, expand training for physicians and nurses, and build healthcare capacity.  It will also pay dividends for our engagement with some of the world’s most fragile states that are already grappling with Ebola and other health threats.  And if everybody steps up – bless you – we can do even more to meet these challenges.

Now every one of us who’ve traveled overseas in Africa knows what it’s like to walk into a hospital and see the operating room and see the facilities and the unbelievably complicated, difficult circumstances under which doctors and nurses are trying to operate and work.  I was stunned when I most recently was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Angola, and Ethiopia, and saw these facilities.  And I want to emphasize that the United States commitment to combatting HIV/AIDS through PEPFAR and our longstanding support of the Global Fund is as undiminished as our work is unfinished.

Our commitment has only been strengthened by the progress that we’ve made and the lives that we have saved.  That is a story worth telling and is also a story that compels all of us to continue this work.  On my last trip to Ethiopia, I visited the Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Addis Ababa, and I heard their story of the – from these remarkable people who were working in the AIDS component, the AIDS clinic in the hospital, and they told me about a woman named Abeba.

Abeba is the mother of two daughters.  She’s also HIV-positive.  And soon after her diagnosis, she found herself alone.  I mean literally alone – alone in the street wandering in the pouring rain.  She was trying to find the local health center, and she was literally too weak and too sick to be able to finish her journey.  She collapsed in the street.  And when a group of community workers spotted her, they didn’t drive by or look away.  They stopped and they picked her up and they brought her to this health center, and they found housing for her and they helped raise money to put a roof over her head and to nurse her back to health.

Abeba is not just a survivor, my friends.  She is working now to become a volunteer herself and a mentor to young women across Ethiopia.  And her story, I believe, underscores that all of our fates are inextricably linked together in this fight.  It’s not an inappropriate reminder to turn to the scriptures to remember that this responsibility is clearly declared for us:  “For I was hungry and you gave me food.  I was thirsty and you gave me drink.  I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

On that day in the rain, strangers welcomed Abeba and it made all the difference.  And now Abeba is determined to welcome others in return.  That is the kind of courage and compassion and caring that has brought all of us this far in this fight – a long distance from where we were back in the beginning of the 1990s.  And that is what is most inspiring, and it needs to be inspiring here today on World AIDS Day.

We’re not done yet.  That’s the message that comes out of here from the President and from everyone in this Administration.  With the commitment of every person in this room, we can achieve an AIDS-free generation, and we can silence the armies of pessimism and cynicism and the indifference who said it could never be done.  We can and we will defeat this horrific disease, and I’ll tell you, that is a charge worth fighting to keep.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS DELIVERED ON WORLD AIDS DAY

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
Remarks by the President on World AIDS Day
South Court Auditorium
Eisenhower Executive Office Building
1:20 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)  Everybody, please have a seat.  Well, thank you, Grant, for your outstanding leadership of the Office of National AIDS Policy.  And thanks to all of you for being here.  This is a pretty distinguished crowd, I have to say, and it is wonderful to be here.

I should say, actually, welcome back, because many of you have joined us before as we’ve marked new milestones in our fight against HIV and AIDS.  And I’m honored that you could join us in commemorating World AIDS Day, which was yesterday.  And this is a time for remembering the friends and loved ones that we’ve lost, celebrating the extraordinary progress -- thanks to some people in this room -- that we’ve been able to make, and most importantly, recommitting ourselves to the mission that we share, which is achieving an AIDS-free generation.

I especially want to welcome ministers from our partner countries; members of my administration, including Secretary Sebelius, Secretary John Kerry; Congresswoman Barbara Lee; Mark Dybul from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  And we’ve also got here Francis Collins from the National Institutes of Health; Michel Sidibe from UN-AIDS; Deborah von Zinkernagel, who’s carrying on the great work of Eric Goosby as our Acting Global AIDS Coordinator; and our many friends from the philanthropic world, including Bill Gates.  So thank you all for joining us here today.

Every year, this is a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come since the early days of the AIDS epidemic.  And those of you who lived through it remember all too well the fear and the  stigma, and how hard people with HIV had to fight to be seen, or heard, or to be treated with basic compassion.  And you remember how little we knew about how to prevent AIDS, or how to treat it.  What we did know was the devastation that it inflicted -- striking down vibrant men and women in the prime of their lives and spreading from city to city and country to country seemingly overnight.

Today, that picture is transformed.  Thanks to the courage and love of so many of you in this room and around the world, awareness has soared; research has surged.  Prevention, treatment and care are now saving millions of lives not only in the world’s richest countries but in some of the world‘s poorest countries as well.  And for many, with testing and access to the right treatment, the disease that was once a death sentence now comes with a good chance at a healthy and productive life.  And that's an extraordinary achievement.

As President, I’ve told you that in this fight, you’ll have a partner in me.  And I said that if the United States wanted to be the global leader in combating this disease, then we needed to act like it -- by doing our part and by leading the world to do more together.  And that’s what we’ve done, in partnership with so many of you.  We created the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy, rooted in a simple vision that every person should get access to life-extending care, regardless of age or gender, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or socio-economic status.

We’ve continued to support the Ryan White CARE Act to help underserved communities, and we lifted the entry ban so that people with HIV are no longer barred from the United States -- which led to the International AIDS Conference being held here last year for the very first time in over 20 years.

This summer, I issued an executive order creating the HIV Care Continuum Initiative to boost our federal efforts to prevent and treat HIV.  Last month, I signed the HIV Organ Policy Equity Act, to finally allow research into organ donations between people with HIV -- a step achieved with bipartisan support.

And thanks to the Affordable Care Act, millions of insured Americans will be able to get tested free of charge.  Americans who were uninsured will now be able to have access to affordable health care coverage, and beginning in January, no American will be again denied health insurance because of their HIV status.

On World AIDS Day two years ago, I announced an additional $35 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which helps people pay for lifesaving medications.  At one time, the need was so great that over 9,000 people were on the waitlist.  We vowed to get those numbers down.  And I’m proud to announce that, as of last week, we have cleared that waitlist.  We are down to zero.  (Applause.)  And we’re going to keep working to keep it down.

So we’re making progress.  But we’re all here today because we know how much work remains to be done.  Here in the United States, we need to keep focusing on investments to communities that are still being hit hardest, including gay and bisexual men, African Americans and Latinos.  We need to keep up the fight in our cities -- including Washington, D.C., which in recent years has reduced diagnosed infections by nearly half.

And we’re going to keep pursuing scientific breakthroughs.  Today I’m pleased to announce a new initiative at the National Institutes of Health to advance research into an HIV cure.  We’re going to redirect $100 million into this project to develop a new generation of therapies.  Because the United States should be at the forefront of new discoveries into how to put HIV into long-term remission without requiring lifelong therapies -- or, better yet, eliminate it completely.

And of course, this fight extends far beyond our borders.  When I became President, I inherited President Bush’s phenomenal program, PEPFAR, which has helped millions around the world receive lifesaving treatment.  And we haven’t just sustained those efforts, we’ve expanded them -- reaching and serving even more people, especially mothers and children.  Earlier this year, PEPFAR reached a wonderful milestone -- the one millionth baby born without HIV.  (Applause.)   And that alongside the rapid decline in new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

On my visit to South Africa this year, I visited a clinic run by Bishop Desmond Tutu and had the honor of spending time with some of their extraordinary young patients and counselors and outreach workers and doctors.  Every day, they are doing extraordinary work.  And when you visit this facility, you cannot help but be inspired by what they do each and every day, in part thanks to the support of the United States of America.  They’re saving lives and they’re changing the way their country, and the world, approaches this disease.  And that’s work that we have to continue to advance.

On World AIDS Day two years ago, I set new prevention and treatment targets for PEPFAR, like increasing the number of mothers we reach so that we prevent their children from becoming infected, and helping 6 million people get treatment by the end of 2013.  Today, I’m proud to announce that we’ve not only reached our goal, we’ve exceeded our treatment target.  So we’ve helped 6.7 million people receive lifesaving treatment.  And we’re going to keep at it.  (Applause.)  Which is why, after I leave here today, I’ll be proud to sign the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act, to keep this program going strong.  (Applause.)  Count on the legislator to applaud legislation.  (Laughter.)

Looking ahead, it’s time for the world to come together to set new goals.  Right now we’re working hard to get a permanent leader in place at PEPFAR, and once we do, one of our first items of business will be convening a meeting early next year, so the United States and our partners worldwide -- including governments, the Global Fund, U.N.-AIDS, and civil society -- can sit around one table and develop joint HIV prevention and treatment goals for the countries where we and the Global Fund do business.  We’ll hold each other accountable, and we’ll continue to work to turn the tide of this epidemic together.

And that includes keeping up our support for the Global Fund.  Its success speaks for itself.  It’s helping over 6 million people in over 140 countries receive antiretroviral therapy.  And now it’s time to replenish the Fund.  The United States will contribute $1 for every $2 pledged by other donors over the next three years, up to $5 billion total from the United States.  And the United Kingdom has made a similar promise.  (Applause.)

So today I want to urge all those who are attending the Global Fund’s replenishment meetings both today and tomorrow to take up this commitment.  Don’t leave our money on the table.  It’s been inspiring to see the countries most affected by this disease vastly increase their own contributions to this fight -- in some cases, providing more than donor countries do.  And that ought to inspire all of us to give more, to do more, so we can save more lives.

After all, none of the progress we’ve made against AIDS could have been achieved by a single government or foundation or corporation working alone.  It’s the result of countless people -- including so many of you -- working together from countries large and small, philanthropies, universities, media, civil society, activists.  More than anything, I think it’s thanks to the courageous people living with HIV around the world who’ve shared their stories; you’ve lent your strength, demanded your dignity be recognized, and led the fight to spare others the anguish of this disease.

We can’t change the past or undo its wrenching pain.  But what we can do -- and what we have to do -- is to chart a different future, guided by our love for those we couldn’t save. That allows us to do everything we can, everything in our power to save those that we can.  And that’s my commitment to you as President.

The United States of America will remain the global leader in the fight against HIV and AIDS.  We will stand with you every step of this journey until we reach the day that we know is possible, when all men and women can protect themselves from infection; a day when all people with HIV have access to the treatments that extend their lives; the day when there are no babies being born with HIV or AIDS, and when we achieve, at long last, what was once hard to imagine -- and that’s an AIDS-free generation.

That’s the world I want for my daughters.  That’s the world that all of us want for our families.  And if we stay focused, if we keep fighting, and if we honor the memory of those that we’ve lost, if we summon the same courage that they displayed, by insisting on whatever it takes, however long it takes, I believe we’re going to win this fight.  And I’m confident that we’ll do so together.

So thank you very much for your extraordinary efforts.  Appreciate it.  God bless you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Good work.  (Applause.)

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S REMARKS ON WORLD AIDS DAY 2013

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
World AIDS Day 2013
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 29, 2013

On World AIDS Day, we come together as a global community to honor the many lives we have lost, and to reaffirm our support for the millions of individuals and families who are still living with and affected by HIV/AIDS around the world.

On this day, we also gain strength by celebrating the important strides that we have taken over the past year, and recommit ourselves to the work still ahead to achieve an AIDS-free generation.

This year marks an extraordinary decade of progress. Ten years ago, when the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was launched by President Bush and with strong bipartisan support of the U.S. Congress, an AIDS diagnosis was a virtual death sentence in much of Africa. The epidemic was threatening the very foundation of societies – creating millions of orphans, stalling economic development, and leaving countries stuck in poverty.

Today, landmark scientific advances, coupled with success in implementing effective programs have put an AIDS-free generation within sight. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the epidemic has hit the hardest, new HIV infections are down by nearly 40 percent since 2001, and AIDS-related mortality has declined by nearly one-third since 2005. This progress is thanks in large part to the unique efforts of and partnership between PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and host countries.

The United States is proud of its longstanding leadership role in these efforts. Through research, funding, direct support for HIV services, we have always led by example in this fight, and asked others to join us.

This June, in marking PEPFAR’s tenth anniversary, I was pleased to announce the one-millionth baby born HIV-free due to PEPFAR-supported prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs. I also was greatly encouraged to report that 13 countries (including 11 in sub-Saharan Africa) have now reached the programmatic “tipping point” in their AIDS epidemic – the point where the annual increase in adults on treatment is greater than the number of annual new adult HIV infections.

And in September, I was honored to host a session with top African leaders and senior global health stakeholders to launch the innovative concept of PEPFAR Country Health Partnerships with South Africa, Rwanda, and Namibia, which will further our efforts to advance country ownership and strengthen sustainability. These successes were further amplified by the U.S. Congress’ bi-partisan and bi-cameral effort in the passage of the PEPFAR Stewardship and Oversight Act on November 19.

The Act reaffirms the United States’ continued commitment to this historic health program and to the fight against global AIDS.

Achieving an AIDS-free generation is a shared responsibility. Partnerships with host government, civil society, the faith community, the private sector, and multilateral organizations are vital to a robust and sustained global AIDS response.

On this World AIDS Day, as we reflect on the extraordinary progress we have made together, it is important to remember that our work is far from finished.

With a sustained focus on strengthened results and shared responsibility, I know that we can get there

U.S. VA SUPPORTS WORLD AIDS DAY

Photo:  U.S. Naval Hospital Ship Mercy.  Credit:  U.S. Navy

FROM: U.S. VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

December 1 is World AIDS Day
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently released its recommendations that all Americans ages 15 to 65 should be tested for HIV at least once in their lifetime.

VA is ahead of the curve and has recommended routine HIV testing for all Veterans since 2009. VA policy is to test every Veteran at least once in their lifetime.

Currently, over 1.2 million Veterans, representing 20 percent of Veterans in care, have a documented HIV test in their electronic medical record. Routine HIV screening allows for care for HIV positive Veterans and reduces the potential for the virus to be transmitted to others.

VA’s Office of Public Health is encouraging VA staff to offer every Veteran an HIV test. Working together, we can create an AIDS-free generation!

To reinforce the importance of World AIDS Day, VA is issuing a unique and comprehensive HIV Prevention Manual, which is a compilation of VA policies and strategies to address primary and secondary HIV prevention.

Designed as a tool for front-line health care providers, it is an extremely valuable resource.

On World AIDS Day, VA joins the AIDS community in its "Facing AIDS" initiative, a campaign to help reduce stigma and promote HIV testing by putting a face to those with HIV and the people who support them.
"An estimated 1.2 million Americans are living with HIV, and yet one out of five doesn’t know it," according to Dr. Maggie Czarnogorski, Deputy Director of VA’s HIV, Hepatitis, and Public Health Pathogen Program. "World AIDS Day is an opportunity to take action. VA is the largest provider of care to those living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. By diagnosing HIV infection as soon as possible, Veterans can receive excellent care and remain healthy for many years to come."

Join VA in recognizing World AIDS Day. Say yes to the test!

 

GRANTS ANNOUNCED TO DEAL WITH GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AS PART OF GLOBAL HIV RESPONSE

Photo Credit:  NASA

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Ambassador Verveer Announces Grants to Address Gender-Based Violence as Part of the Global HIV Response

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


In recognition of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and World AIDS Day, Ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer announced today $3 million in small grants awarded to dozens of grassroots organizations working to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV) around the world, with a link to HIV prevention, treatment and care.

These grants are part of a joint initiative between the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to address the link between HIV infection and GBV, and will support the work of 35 organizations in 28 countries. These countries include: Barbados, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Indonesia, Malawi, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, St. Lucia, Swaziland, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Grants of up to $100,000 per organization will fund innovative programs that link to HIV prevention, treatment and care platforms, including those programs that work to engage community leaders in the fight against GBV and AIDS, strengthen legal and judicial systems to ensure the full enforcement of anti-GBV laws, enhance prevention and response efforts, and work to reduce stigma and harmful practices.

One in three women worldwide will experience GBV in their lifetime, and in some countries, 70 percent of female populations are affected. Gender-based violence increases women and girls’ overall vulnerability to HIV, with country studies indicating an up to three-fold risk of HIV infection among women who experience violence. Addressing gender inequities and norms is essential to reducing the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV infection. Through this initiative, grassroots organizations will receive support to address the structural drivers of both violence and HIV, contributing to a longer-term effort to create an AIDS-free generation and societies free of violence.