AIDS, TB and Malaria

Those who deliver HIV/AIDS programs to the growing number of people who need prevention, treatment and care in 15 nations hit hardest by the disease will gather in Kampala, Uganda, June 3-7 to share what they have learned and influence future AIDS programs. The theme of this second annual HIV/AIDS Implementer’s Meeting is “Scaling Up Through Partnerships: Overcoming Obstacles to Implementation.” It will build on the successful implementers’ meeting held in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2007. “The implementers will take lessons learned back home and disseminate them to others,” Dr. Thomas Kenyon, principal deputy coordinator and chief medical officer in the State Department’s Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, told America.gov. “That is the important emphasis here. This is for people who are doing the work with their hands and feet and who often don’t get a voice on the global stage.” At least 1,700 attendees are expected, representing governments, nongovernmental organizations -- including faith- and community-based groups -- multilateral organizations, the private sector and groups of people living with HIV/AIDS. The meeting, hosted by the government of Uganda, is sponsored by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS; UNICEF; the World Bank; the World Health Organization; and the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS.

 

Leaders of the Group of Eight nations, meeting for three days in Germany, pledged to assist Africa and other countries, and endorsed President Bush’s initiative for a major global climate agreement by the end of 2008. From the U.S. viewpoint, the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, was “very positive,” White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino told reporters June 8 aboard Air Force One as President Bush departed the summit for a scheduled visit to Poland. The summit included an important compromise agreement on global climate change and “significant commitments to Africa,” Perino said. Summit highlights also included “President Bush leading the way on his HIV/AIDS proposal, and a recognition of the need to work together with developing countries, including outreach countries that were there [attending the summit]: India, China, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.” The annual G8 meeting was attended by the heads of government of Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States, as well as other world and regional leaders.

2008: U.S.-UK Announcement on Health and Health Workers (Apr 18, 2008)

2007: G8 Leaders Pledge Assistance for Africa, Emerging Economies (Jun 8, 2007) | Plans To Increase Resources For Fight Against Global HIV/AIDS (Jun 8, 2007)

2006: U.S.-EU Summit Declaration (Jun 21, 2006)

The United States and the European Union are working together to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and are strengthening their efforts in this arena as President Bush meets with European leaders on his February 21-24, 2005, trip to the continent. A fact sheet issued by the U.S. Department of State cites the cooperative initiatives of the United States and European nations in supporting the Global Fund for AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis; cooperating on trade rules to enable the developing world production of AIDS medicines; and working jointly in vaccine research and development programs.

2005: U.S., Europeans Working Jointly Against HIV/AIDS (Feb 22, 2005)

The United States and the European Union (EU) reaffirmed their joint commitment to fight HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases in a declaration issued June 26, 2004, at their summit in Shannon, Ireland. Describing the HIV/AIDS epidemic as "one of the biggest global challenges of our time," the two parties stated their support for the U.N. Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and expressed their determination "to continue working together to promote the effective operation of this new global mechanism" to halt the disease.

2004: AIDS Epidemic in N. America, Western and Central Europe Examined (Nov 23, 04) | Fact Sheet: AIDS Epidemic in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (Nov 23, 2004) | EU, U.S. Allied in Fight Against HIV/AIDS (Jun 26, 2004)

2003: Schnabel: U.S. and EU Are Committed to Defeating HIV/AIDS (Nov 28, 2003)