United States Mission Geneva

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs as the U.S. Special Representative on Avian and Pandemic Influenza.

Launched on World AIDS Day, the Five-Year Strategy of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) outlines the high-level direction of the program for its next phase.

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced today that the two programs are jointly supporting antiretroviral treatment for nearly 3.7 million of the estimated 4 million individuals in low- and middle-income countries who currently receive treatment globally.

Our Nation joins the world in celebrating the extraordinary advancements we have made in the battle against HIV and AIDS, and remembering those we have lost. Over the past three decades, brave men and women have fought devastating discrimination, stigma, doubt, and violence as they stood in the face of this deadly disease.

“…the time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and our work must begin now.” — President Barack Obama

I have been in office for just nine months — though some days it seems a lot longer. I am well aware of the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world. These expectations are not about me. Rather, they are rooted, I believe, in a discontent with a status quo that has allowed us to be increasingly defined by our differences, and outpaced by our problems. But they are also rooted in hope — the hope that real change is possible, and the hope that America will be a leader in bringing about such change.

Today, President Obama announced the United States will continue to act aggressively to stop the global spread of the pandemic 2009-H1N1 influenza virus and is prepared to make 10 percent of its H1N1 vaccine supply available to other countries through the World Health Organization (WHO). In recognition that diseases know no borders and that the health of the American people is inseparable from the health of people around the world, the United States is taking this action in concert with Australia, Brazil, France, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The United States will make the H1N1 vaccine available to the WHO on a rolling basis as vaccine supplies become available, in order to assist countries that will not otherwise have direct access to the vaccine.

The Secretary’s trip comes just three weeks after President Obama’s successful trip to Accra, Ghana, and will highlight and underscore the Obama Administration’s commitment to making Africa a priority in U.S. foreign policy. This is the earliest trip by the Secretary of State and the President to Africa of any previous administration.

U.S. Statement

Geneva,
July 9, 2009
The United States wishes to thank the President of ECOSOC and all the delegations who worked collaboratively to draft a strong, forward-leaning Ministerial Declaration on the importance of implementing the commitments on global public health. We appreciate the flexibility that has been shown by all, including the G77 and the European [...]