| | Secretary Clinton's Remarks on Global Health Initiative
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On August 16, Secretary Clinton spoke on plans for the U.S. Global Health Initiative. The transcript and video of her remarks and Q&A; are available here. Excerpts from her remarks:
The United States is investing $63 billion - first, to sustain and strengthen our existing health programs, and second, to build upon those programs and take their work to the next level by collaborating with governments, organizations, civil society groups, and individuals to help broaden the improvements in public health that we can expect. We're shifting our focus from solving problems, one at a time, to
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serving people, by considering more fully the circumstances of their lives and ensuring they can get the care they need most over the course of their lifetimes. ...
To illustrate how the Global Health Initiative will work, consider how it will impact one of our most successful global health programs: PEPFAR. ... [T]he immediate impact for PEPFAR is clear. Its funding will increase, its impact will increase, and its prevention strategies will become more comprehensive. ...
Now, we have already come so far as a nation and as a global community in saving and improving lives. And we are grateful to all who brought us to this point, particularly the heroic health workers, and the visionary leaders, the determined scientists and researchers, and committed activists. Thanks to them, we are able-and I would argue, we are obligated-to go even further; to save more lives, to take on more difficult tasks, to commit ourselves to the patient, persistent work of building the foundation for a healthier future. This is a challenge worthy of us, as a nation and as a people. And we are rising to meet it, as we have done many times in the past. Together, we can give millions of people the chance at healthy lives, and create a healthier, more stable, more peaceful world.
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Conversations with America: A Discussion on PEPFAR
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Dr. Jeffrey L. Sturchio, President and CEO of the Global Health Council, holds a conversation with Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, on the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This is the fifth in the new Conversations with America video series launched in April 2010, in which the State Department's senior leadership holds periodic conversations live online with leaders of prominent non-governmental organizations. Discussion topics include foreign policy and global issues. These dialogues provide views of how leaders from the foreign affairs community engage the Department on pressing foreign policy issues and how both the U.S. government and civil society are working around the globe on issues that concern Americans most. [Video | Transcript]
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PEPFAR Participation in the International AIDS Conference
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Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, led the U.S. delegation to the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. The conference brought together almost 20,000 participants, including scientists, health care providers, political, community and business leaders, government, non-governmental and multilateral organization representatives, and people living with HIV/AIDS, to discuss efforts to stop HIV/AIDS. Reflecting America's leadership in the fight against global AIDS through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. used this opportunity to share data, best practices, and lessons learned from PEPFAR-supported programs with the global community of HIV/AIDS program implementers. Learn more about the conference at the links below.
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New PEPFAR Guidance for HIV Prevention for People Who Inject Drugs
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| As part of President Obama's Global Health Initiative, PEPFAR has set forth ambitious goals for prevention of new HIV infections. PEPFAR supports prevention, treatment and care services in countries with both concentrated and generalized epidemics. Data show that injection drug users (IDUs) remain at extremely high risk for HIV infection and that injection drug use is a primary driver of the epidemic in a number of regions and communities around the world. In addition to services for HIV-positive IDUs, effective interventions are needed to help HIV-negative IDUs stay HIV-negative, protecting themselves and their partners and families.
The new guidance allows PEPFAR support for a comprehensive package of prevention services scientifically demonstrated to decrease HIV infection risk without increasing drug use, including needle and syringe programs (NSPs) and expansion of methadone and other medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to HIV-negative IDUs. Under the guidance, PEPFAR teams in countries where epidemiologic data define a need to address IDUs as a priority within the full range of country HIV prevention needs may propose these activities in their Country Operational Plan (COP) submissions. Like other interventions, the proposals will be reviewed by an interagency headquarters team and subject to ultimate approval by the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.
The new guidance promotes close collaboration with country partners, including multiple sectors of government and civil society. Their leadership is essential to combat stigma and discrimination and respect the human rights of IDUs, to provide safe spaces for them to access services, and to secure an environment in which evidence-based interventions for IDUs can succeed. [View Guidance]
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Ambassador Goosby Blog: PEPFAR Programs in Uganda: An Update
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In June, I made my second visit to Uganda as the Global AIDS Coordinator. During the 1980s and 1990s, Uganda's successes in combating HIV/AIDS garnered global attention. But the disease remains a significant challenge for the nation, with the availability of antiretroviral treatment recently becoming a focal point of concern. My trip to Uganda was to engage in dialogue around this issue.
The dramatic expansion of access to health care services, including HIV treatment, in Uganda in recent years has been a remarkable accomplishment, one in which the United States has been able to play a key role. Over 200,000 Ugandans were receiving treatment at the end of September 2009, of whom 175,000 were directly supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). U.S. HIV/AIDS funding to Uganda is currently $280 million a year, and totals $1.4 billion since 2004. This is a historically high level of funding, particularly in a time of tightening budgets and economic constraints. In fact, the United States contributes approximately 70% of all funding for HIV/AIDS activities in Uganda. [More]
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U.S. Government Support for Global Health Efforts
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The U.S. government continues to lay the groundwork for efforts under the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI), announcing the first round of "GHI Plus" countries, as well as the program's governance structure. GHI is a six-year, $63 billion initiative to help partner countries improve measurable health outcomes by strengthening health systems and building upon proven results. It places a particular focus on improving the health of women, newborns and children. Pursuing a comprehensive approach, GHI includes programs addressing HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, nutrition, family planning and reproductive health, and neglected tropical diseases. These U.S. global health investments are an important component of our national security "smart power" strategy, critical to national security as well as our common security.
GHI activities are being implemented in the more than 80 countries where U.S. government global health dollars are already at work. Under GHI, the U.S. government will coordinate with partner country governments to ensure that investments align with national priorities and build capacity. Eight countries have been selected as the first set of "GHI Plus" countries. They are: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nepal, and Rwanda. These countries will receive additional technical and management resources to quickly implement GHI's approach, including integrated programs and investments across the spectrum of infectious diseases, maternal and child health, family planning, and health systems activities. GHI Plus countries will provide enhanced opportunities to build upon existing public health programs; improve program performance; and work in close collaboration with partner governments, across U.S. government agencies, and with global partners. [More]
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