AIDS 2012: Key Lessons From a Decade of Action on Global AIDS, and the Way Forward

The XIX International AIDS Conference, known as AIDS 2012, will take place July 22-27, 2012 in Washington, DC. Anticipating the conference, yesterday I spoke at the Brookings Institution on some of the lessons learned from the first decade of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that can inform future efforts on AIDS and global health.

I noted that in order to be wholly successful in our fight against AIDS, and achieve our collective goal of an AIDS-free generation, we need to focus on three specific areas of improvement: recognizing PEPFAR as a foundation for other global health successes; promoting country ownership; and fostering a shared responsibility for the global response. It is because of PEPFAR's work that today many countries are in a better position to save more lives and create a stronger, more secure world.

The AIDS 2012 conference is now just one month away. Thanks to the Obama Administration, for the first time in more than 20 years, this meeting is taking place in the United States. America's contribution has been imperative to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Through PEPFAR, as of last year, the United States supported nearly four million people on treatment. Additionally, PEPFAR programs supported drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission for 660,000 HIV-positive pregnant women. Because of this effort, an estimated 200,000 infant infections were averted in 2011 alone.

The last 10 years have taught us what must be done to end this epidemic and achieve an AIDS-free generation, and I have great hope that we will get it done. This is the moment to seize this hope, and together we will turn the tide.

To read the transcript or watch the video of the event, please visit www.PEPFAR.gov.

Ambassador Eric Goosby is the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (Cross-posted from DipNote U.S. Department of State Official Blog).