US Mission Geneva

Moving swiftly to implement the findings of successful research has saved lives and slowed the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS, according to a U.S. leader in the campaign, Ambassador-at-Large Eric Goosby.

“Leading with Science, Uniting for Action,” the theme of this year’s worldwide commemoration, describes how U.S. military members work hand in hand with militaries around the world to address the disease, said Matthew Brown, deputy director of the Defense Department’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Program.

“Today, we come together as a global community, across continents, faiths and cultures, to renew our commitment to ending the AIDS pandemic once and for all,”

The fight against AIDS began three decades ago in June 1981. American scientists reported the first evidence of a mysterious new disease. It was killing young men by leaving them vulnerable to rare forms of pneumonia, cancer, and other health problems. Now, at first, doctors knew virtually nothing about this disease. Today, all those years later, we know a great deal.

“We have the potential to drive forward our programs, such that we could be reducing childhood mortality by 38 to 40 percent,” said Amy Batson, deputy assistant administrator for global health at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Secretary Clinton: “What we have in common, of course, is a passion about saving lives and improving health around the world. And we have to ask ourselves: What can we do that will have the largest impact? And as President Bush said, what can we do that we actually can measure and point to outcomes that change and save lives? I think this partnership helps to answer that question. Because without a doubt, one of the most powerful and effective ways of saving lives is by improving women’s and particularly mothers’ health.”

Prevention, care, and treatment have always been the core pillars of the United States response through PEPFAR and the Global Health Initiative and we will continue our contributions toward the goals of 2015 as set in the high-level declaration. We see these goals as essential steps to accelerating global efforts to achieve universal access.

The world has made incredible progress in closing the gap in developing countries thanks in great part to the commitment of the American people. In fiscal year 2010, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programs focused on preventing mother-to-child-transmission directly supported services that led to more than 114,000 children estimated to have been born free of HIV.

While America has made great strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS in recent years, the Obama Administration has made it a priority to re-focus national attention on a domestic epidemic that is still in play.