By Bahle Gama
Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi will be part of the panel that will be having discussions at the 20th anniversary of the AIDS program PEPFAR to be held in Washington DC on Friday.
The Bush Institute will be marking 20 years of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Minister Nkosi will be part of a panel that will be discussing the topic: Ending AIDS, How do we get there.
Read More: African leaders pledge new commitments to end AIDS
She will be joined by other panelists including UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyinia, Vice President, Global Public Health Franchises, Johnson&Johnson Anna Caravaggio, Physician Assistant and Former Research Manager Bridget Akasreku and Peter Sands Executive Director, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria who will be giving pre-recorded remarks.
Joining former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura in the celebration will be former Tanzanian President Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, former US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice and Bill Gates amongst others.
In a statement, the Bush Institute disclosed that the event will be broadcast live online and will also see the trio discussing the inception of PEPFAR, its enormous impact, and how the program is a win for both partner countries and the U.S. foreign policy.
Read More: ARVs are available, health minister assures emaSwati
Gates will join Executive Director of the Bush Institute David Kramer to discuss how PEPFAR’s successful program model can inform U.S. engagement in global health and development more broadly.
Kramer stated that PEPFAR is arguably the most successful U.S. foreign assistance program ever, having saved more than 25 million lives to date.
“PEPFAR has also strengthened health systems, emboldened democracies, supported economic growth, and advanced progress on human rights. Congress and the American people should continue to support PEPFAR until AIDS is no longer a threat,” said Kramer.
Read More: Eswatini pledges E17.6 million for the fight against HIV/AIDS, Malaria
Meanwhile, Laura Bush will give brief remarks and further introduce Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation Ambassadors from Tanzania Tatu Msangi and Faith Mang’ehe who attended the State of the Union address in 2008.
Ukrainian HIV/AIDS advocates Dmytro Shrembei and Valeriaa Rachynska will talk about how PEPFAR helped change the trajectory of AIDS in Ukraine and continues to innovatively provide care despite Russia’s ongoing invasion.
The event will also include conversations on what must be done to meet the global goal of ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. While the event is by invitation only, it will be live streamed at www.bushcenter.org/pepfarat20.