2007 Speeches

December 18, 2007

Workshops to strengthen the ability of T&T HIV/AIDS Civil Society Organizations to mobilize resources

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Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
Red Cross Headquarters

Good morning!

I am pleased to welcome you here today for the first of a series of four workshops aimed at strengthening the ability of Trinidad and Tobago Civil Society Organizations to mobilize resources in our shared fight against HIV/AIDS. 

Many of you know me as an American; and Americans have shown our concern for people beset by various problems, including those suffering from the ravages of HIV/AIDS.  However, I am also a son of the Caribbean and the knowledge that the effect of HIV and AIDS on this region of my birth is second only to Sub-Saharan Africa tears at my heart-strings.  Just last year, an estimated 37,000 people were newly infected, and AIDS is the leading regional cause of death among young adults.  Here in Trinidad and Tobago, young women are especially affected, with girls in their late teens six times as likely to be infected with HIV as their male counterparts.

This carnage must be slowed to allow victims to enjoy longer lives.  Eventually we must bring it to an end.  We cannot stand by and lose the promise of a generation.  We must do everything in our power to make HIV testing accessible, to reduce discrimination against persons who have contracted this frightening disease, and to encourage open, frank discussion of HIV and AIDS, assisting people living with this devastating disease as much as possible.  The United States is committed to working together with you to accomplish these goals through workshops such as this one, through regional U.S. programs like the Workplace Education Program on HIV/AIDS, on which the U.S. Department of Labor and the International Labor Organization are collaborating, and through the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR.

PEPFAR is the five-year, US$15 billion initiative that President Bush launched in 2003 to combat HIV/AIDS around the world.  It represents the largest commitment ever made by a single nation to any international health initiative.  In 2005, for example, we spent US$2.7 billion to provide prevention outreach to 42 million people in 120 countries, and to offer counseling and testing for almost 10 million more.

In May of this year, recognizing that this is a struggle that must be won, the President announced a proposal to double America's initial US$15 billion PEPFAR commitment to fight global HIV/AIDS.  As part of this commitment, President Bush asked for $5.3 billion for HIV/AIDS programs in his 2008 budget request.  These funds will be used to expand the number of people in Africa and the Caribbean receiving life-saving treatments for HIV/AIDS from the current 800,000 to 2 million by 2009.  In Trinidad and Tobago, organizations like yours may apply for project funding from PEPFAR through the annual Ambassador's HIV Prevention Program. 

I commend you for participating in this series of workshops, and I applaud the HIV/AIDS Alliance International, the National AIDS Coordinating Committee, the Caribbean Coalition of National AIDS Programme Coordinators, my staff at the U.S Embassy, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for organizing this program.  The work of dedicated people like your, and the organizations you represent, is critical if we are to win this battle.  As the President said on World AIDS Day just a few weeks ago, through the efforts of good and dedicated people – like those in attendance today – "We will turn the tide against HIV/AIDS – once and for all."

I thank you.