Ambassador Perry's Speeches

Embassy AIDS Program (3 Dec 08)

Chief of Defense Staff, Major General Alfred Nelson Williams
Director, National AIDS Secretariat, Dr. Brima Kargbo
Director, Medical Services, Colonel (Dr.) A.R. Sankoh
Unit Commanders
Medical Officers
Peer Educators
Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for that warm welcome.  I am so pleased to see so many of you here to acknowledge this week of World AIDS Day Events.  This year, Sierra Leone comes together for World AIDS Day under the theme "Take the Lead, take the HIV test."  All week, programs have taken place at U.S. Embassies around the world.  This year, in honor of World AIDS Day, Americans everywhere are celebrating life. 

In countless communities around the world, through partnerships with the American people, courageous individuals in nations devastated by this disease are choosing life, saving the lives of their fellow countrymen and women, and creating hope for a future free of HIV/AIDS.

The United States contributes to the fight against HIV/AIDS in Sierra Leone in many ways, though the Department of Defense HIV AIDS Prevention Program is the primary means by which the United States Government assists Sierra Leone in its AIDS prevention strategies.  Our program in Sierra Leone provides condoms, confidential testing, and Antiretroviral Therapy.  Our program also provides education on how to prevent the spread of AIDS and, just as important, how to live a positive lifestyle with HIV.  We are gratified that with our help and the help of other international community member states, ART is available to all those people in Sierra Leone who need it.  We are strongly committed to the health and wellbeing of Sierra Leone's military community, and we're working hard to make sure you have the tools available to you to prevent the spread of AIDS and to eliminate the stigma that can cripple your operations if left unchecked.  In addition, we have strongly advocated that your family members, those people who support you when you are in need, are tested so that they too can live healthy lifestyles regardless of their HIV status.  This is even more important for women who may be having children, since prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) can be almost completely effective if the appropriate medications are taken at the right time.

We are gratified by what we have accomplished in partnership with the people of Sierra Leone and with the RSLAF, but also acknowledge that we are nowhere near where we want to be in terms of protecting young and old, treating those who need it, and ensuring that those with HIV are respected for their courage to be open about their status rather than shunned by their communities.

We were pleased last month to host Police Superintendent Gezepi Chakulunta, the HIV/AIDS Coordinator for the Zambian National Police.  Mrs. Chakulunta shared her experience as an HIV positive individual working to eradicate stigma in her country during a four-week visit to Sierra Leone.  Her discussions with members of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces went a long way towards letting them now how anti-stigma programs can succeed in helping people get treatment.

Now, Sierra Leone is at a crucial point in its fight against AIDS.  The epidemic here has not reached the proportions that it has in some parts of Africa, such as Southern Africa.  As many of you know, the United States commitment to combating this disease all over the world has been tremendous in recent years.

Our flagship program, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, provides education, means of prevention, and treatment to people in the countries most devastatingly affected by AIDS.  In fact, PEPFAR has provided HIV/AIDS treatment for over 1.7 million people around the world.  PEPFAR's assistance, like much of U.S. international assistance, is implemented in partnership with organizations in the benefitting region.  87 percent of PEPFAR funds are committed through grants to indigenous organizations.

In addition to PEPFAR, the United States helps in the fight for improved health around the world through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the President’s Malaria Initiative, the Ambassador’s Girls Scholarship Program (AGSP), the Ambassador’s Special Self Help (SSH) Fund, and numerous grants through USAID, the Department of Defense, and other agencies.  In July, the United States government dramatically increased its financial commitment to this fight – our Congress authorized up to $48 billion to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria over the next five years.  Through that legislation, we will be able to increase the number of individuals being treated from 1.7 to 3 million people worldwide, and provide care for 12 million others. 

In addition to United States Government contributions, individual Americans have, through philanthropic outreach and volunteerism, contributed immensely to the fight against AIDS.  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation alone has given over 17 billion dollars to fight AIDS through education, provision of basic health services, sanitation, and other projects through local NGO partners.  The American spirit of volunteerism and philanthropy is a testament to our sense of membership in a global community.

Individuals like the Gates reflect the compassion of the American people and a timeless truth: to whom much is given, much is asked.  Through our partnerships, we have made tremendous progress around the world, and we are committed to continuing the fight.
This week, to mark World AIDS Day, I encourage you all to celebrate life.
On behalf of the President and people of the United States of America,

Thank you.