Video: Hillary Clinton at the UNAIDS Shared Responsibility Event
Remarks to the UNAIDS Shared Responsibility Event
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
United Nations
New York City
September 26, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Thank you. Thank you very much. Michel, thank you, and thank you for
your years of leadership. President Yayi, thank you. Everywhere I go at
the UN this week where there’s an important issue being discussed, the
President is here on behalf of Benin and on behalf of the AU –
(applause) – and we thank you so much, Mr. President. And thank you,
Chairman Ping. Thank you for the work that you have done in raising the
visibility and the importance of health-related issues at the African
Union.
And good morning to all of you excellencies and ladies and gentlemen.
It is such a pleasure for me to be here at this event to demonstrate
very visibly America’s commitment to shared responsibility as we all
work together toward a historic goal: creating an AIDS-free generation.
It is an ambitious goal that we have set, but I know we can reach it. In
part, that’s because of the commitment of every one of you and the many
others you represent here today. I also know because of the investments
that the United States and our partners have been making for decades to
understand, prevent, and treat this disease.
But there’s another reason we can foresee an AIDS-free generation,
and that is because nations are stepping up to their own
responsibilities to care for their own people. Because ultimately, if we
are going to win the fight against AIDS, the societies that are the
hardest hit will have to lead the way. That’s why the United States,
under the leadership of Dr. Eric Goosby, who is the head of our PEPFAR
program and a long time physician who treated some of the very first
AIDS patients in San Francisco, to an advocate and manager and champion
of what we all can do together – he and I have worked closely together
in the Obama Administration to make country ownership a hallmark of
PEPFAR and other health programs.
But let me be very clear: Country ownership is not code for
abandoning our partners. We are continuing our support, but we are
reshaping our programs in ways that make them more sustainable. We want
to help our partners, all of you, help set priorities and get the
capacity to manage resources, develop your own plans, implement them,
and eventually fund them as well. Because in the end, there must be
commitment from communities and from governments across the world.
I’m often asked by those who I serve with in the Obama Administration
as well as colleagues in Congress, “Tell me, are our partners really
taking ownership of the fight against AIDS?” More and more I can say
without hesitation the answer to that question is yes.
I can tell people about Namibia, which now provides half of the
financing for its fight against HIV/AIDS. (Applause.) Dozens of doctors
and nurses who used to be supported by PEPFAR or the Global Fund are now
paid by and overseen by the Namibian Government. Soon many pharmacists
and nurses will make this same transition, and I thank Namibia for its
leadership.
I can also tell you about South Africa, where the government now
accounts for about three quarters of all HIV/AIDS spending in the
country. Under the new Partnership Framework that I signed when I was in
Cape Town with the Health Minister of the Zuma Administration, South
Africa will pay for nearly 90 percent of its HIV/AIDS response by 2017.
So let me thank President Zuma and South Africa for their commitment and
leadership.
Or I can tell you about Rwanda, which has taken over the management
of treatment programs at 70 medical facilities, serving over 30,000
HIV-positive patients. And Rwanda’s increased ownership and capacity
then helps to free up our resources to work with Rwanda to train local
healthcare workers. That is a priority that Rwanda identified, and it’s
one that we are very proud to help Rwanda meet.
So Namibia, South Africa, Rwanda; they are not alone. I could cite
many more examples, including many of the countries represented here.
But we know that change can be difficult, and some of our practices and
habits go back decades. And so often in life it is easier to keep doing
the same things the same old way. So when we talk about holding each
other accountable, we are really agreeing to help each other overcome
inertia, to make hard choices, to do the tough work of finding new ways
to work together. And that, to me, is the message that I hope you will
take with you, because we have to be more innovative, creative, and
smart about the resources we have and how they can best be deployed.
So to that end, the United States is pilot-testing a scorecard that
will allow us and our partners to assess our joint programs and progress
in building sustainable, country-owned health programs, including our
efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. And I know that the members of the AU, Dr.
Ping, are undertaking your own efforts along similar lines. That is a
great step forward if we are serious about shared responsibility, and we
should work together to learn from each other so our efforts are
complementary.
So the steps that you are discussing here today represent measurable
progress, but to deliver on that promise, the promise of this moment, we
have to maintain the progress and build on it. If every nation
devastated by HIV follows the example of many of the leaders in this
room and steps up to shared responsibility, we won’t just keep up our
momentum; we will accelerate our progress and move even faster toward
the day when we can announce the birth of an AIDS-free generation.
Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
