27 November 2009

Ambassador Goosby Comments on PEPFAR’s Effectiveness

Podcast with U.S. global AIDS coordinator for PEPFAR

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Narrator:

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Ambassador Eric Goosby:

It has been effective. It’s been the largest response mounted by any country, all countries added up, really, against one disease in the history of mankind. It’s bigger than the Marshall Plan after World War II. It has impacted more lives and taken them away from certain death than any other program has. And I think for Secretary Clinton, for President Obama, it reflects the best of the American people’s desire to contribute, to assume responsibility — a collective responsibility that we do indeed share a responsibility to respond to such a profound, unmet need, such a disproportionately impacting, unmet need. Seeing development, health within development being a central pillar of the diplomatic strategy is very much where both of them would like to go. That, I think, is very much part of the thinking for Secretary Clinton. Creating a capability that will last long after the program stops is the central goal. And to give our support to those types of efforts preferentially over a development effort that kind of does it for the person. PEPFAR and the emergency response is in a transition on many levels to develop technical assistance strategies that enable, empower, and expand the capability of the partner country in a way that doing it for them doesn’t.