SECRETARY CLINTON:
Thank you. Well, this is such a wonderful occasion, and I am especially grateful that you were all so understanding to change the time for this event. I learned at the last minute yesterday that I had to be at the White House for a meeting with the President. And I actually did say, well, I’m sorry I have to swear-in. (Laughter.) And the answer came back saying, well, yes. So we began to look for a solution to this conflict. And thank you all for your understanding because I did not want to miss being here. This is such a wonderful moment for our country as well as for Eric and his family.
And as you can tell, there wasn’t any doubt that we’d have a full house in the Benjamin Franklin Room, because the Goosby clan along would have been – (laughter) – a sufficient audience. And we’re delighted that his family is here. And I particularly want to underscore our welcome to Nancy and to Zoe and Eric and to Jackie and all the rest of the family.
Public service of the kind that Eric performs every day is never a solo act. It is made possible by a strong support network of family and friends, of colleagues across our country, and indeed, for Eric, across the world. So on behalf of the State Department and the people worldwide whose lives will be saved and touched by Eric’s work and leadership, I really want to thank your family. Because it was no easy decision to uproot yourself and come here to, once again, answer the call of duty. So let’s give a round of applause of gratitude to Eric’s family. (Applause.)
I look across this audience of so many distinguished people, of course, a former ambassador and leader in this effort for our country, and so many of you know because you’ve been on the frontlines of treatment, prevention, and care ever since the AIDS epidemic began. You know that so much progress has been made. I see Dr. Fauci out there, who I remember seeing on television, for it seemed like years and years, talking about the epidemic. So yes, progress has been made, but this disease continues to cause devastation beyond measure in countries on every continent and in communities in every country.
AIDS targets the young and strong. It leaves children without parents, schools without teachers, hospitals without nurses and doctors, fields without farmers. It undermines economies, it widens poverty, it sows the seeds of instability. And for families, its damage is measured in loved ones lost; in nations, it’s measured in potential lost.
And six years ago, President Bush launched a path-breaking response to the AIDS epidemic, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. It’s the largest attempt in history to address a single disease, and the consequences and implications of that disease. Through PEPFAR the United States provides treatment to more than 2 million people, counseling and testing for nearly 57 million, and care to more than 4 million orphans and vulnerable children since the beginning of the program. President Obama and I are deeply committed to PEPFAR’s continued success. We will work through PEPFAR and with our global partners, to expand access to prevention, care, and treatment. And we see PEPFAR’s potential to serve as a platform upon which to build other essential health services for individuals and families through the Obama Administration’s Global Health Initiative and our commitments to partner with governments to help them develop their own capacity to fight the disease and the epidemics that they themselves are confronting.
Now, the next few years will be an exciting opportunity to continue and expand our nation’s work. And I can’t think of a better person to lead that effort than Eric Goosby. I don’t really need to tell his family and friends very much about Eric, but I will anyway. Because I am so pleased that he has agreed to join the Obama Administration and to work with me and so many others in this effort.
You know he’s been a pioneer in the fight against AIDS since the earliest days of the epidemic’s recognition. As a young doctor in San Francisco, he was among the very first physicians to treat people with HIV at San Francisco General Hospital, where he helped to integrate HIV treatment programs with methadone clinics. In 1991, he moved to Washington to become the first director of the Ryan White program, our domestic HIV care and support initiative. Next, he became the director of the HIV/AIDS Policy for the Department of Health and Human Services and served in various capacities in the White House’s National AIDS Policy Office, where he helped to establish the Minority AIDS Initiative – a program that continues to help communities across our own country. Since leaving government, Eric has been the CEO of the Pangea Global AIDS Foundation, which works with governments around the world to establish their own sustainable HIV treatment programs.
On a personal note, I watched Eric at work during the Clinton Administration and I admired his extraordinary energy, his formidable understanding of this epidemic, and his innovative ideas about how to fight it. He has thought about AIDS from every angle and knows better than so many what needs to be done to really create a committed, comprehensive approach. And now after years of following and admiring his work, I am so delighted to be working with him here at State.
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