Speeches

4th Caribbean Regional Chiefs of Mission Conference on HIV/AIDS

October 3, 2005

 

Prime Minister of The Bahamas, my good friend, the Right Honorable Perry Christie, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador Randall Tobias, Secretary of Health for the State of Florida, Dr. M. Rony Francois, my fellow U.S. Ambassadors to the Caribbean, local and regional health officials, private sector and NGO representatives, friends and honored guests...

Good morning and welcome to the Fourth Caribbean Regional Chiefs of Mission Conference on HIV/AIDS.  It gives me great pleasure to host this distinguished gathering.  The eight Chiefs of Mission and two deputy Chiefs of Mission gathered here represent every United States embassy in the Caribbean.  It is not often that this group finds a cause so important to get together at the same time and in the same room.  But the fight against HIV/AIDS is such a cause -- and I thank you all so much for being here.

Global and Regional Picture
 
The global and regional statistics on HIV/AIDS remain sobering.

Since the epidemic began more than 20 years ago, over 20 million people have died from AIDS worldwide.  Three million died last year alone.  Approximately 40 million people are living with HIV today, many of them children.  Their numbers grew by 5 million last year.

In the Caribbean, the adult prevalence rate has reached 2.3 percent, making the Caribbean the second-most affected region in the world behind Sub-Saharan Africa.  The Caribbean is home to approximately 440,000 adults and children living with HIV, more than half of who are in Haiti.  Prevalence rates exceed two percent in Haiti, Guyana, The Bahamas, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago.  An estimated 36,000 adults and children died from AIDS in the Caribbean last year.  And another 53,000 became newly infected.

Countries with the greatest struggles are seeing entire generations decimated by the illness.  Every aspect of society is affected.  Social structures must be re-worked to care for the growing population of orphans.  Efforts to reduce poverty stagnate as human and financial resources are drained.  The health care system strains to keep up with the many challenges it faces.  Countries that can least afford additional burdens are forced to carry an unimaginably heavy load.

As I said, the statistics and the global picture remain sobering.

One Person at a Time

This is not an abstract problem.  Each person living with AIDS or HIV is just that: a person, a mother or father, sister or brother, and each one has a unique story.  They share the same desires and harbor the same expectations as we all do: to live out our lives in the company of family and friends, to make a contribution, and do the things that make us happy and proud.

By focusing on the human dignity of each individual, we can see how this battle will be fought and eventually won: one person at a time.        

Public Health Challenge

Twenty years ago the fight against HIV/AIDS took place mainly in the laboratory.  Medical science was at the frontier, looking for answers about the causes of the disease and developing medicines to help combat it.  Our ignorance created fear and blocked progress. 

Since that time, medical science has advanced along with our understanding of the how the disease works and how it is spread.  We now have medicines that hinder transmission of the virus and slow the progress of the disease.  This learning process continues.

As our knowledge has grown, HIV/AIDS has moved from being regarded primarily as a medical challenge to a public health challenge.  The question is no longer what to do.  Science has taught us that.  Instead, it's a matter of doing it.  That involves all of us: government, private sector, NGOs, civil society, all of us. 

We know what sort of safe behaviors will be successful in preventing the spread of the virus.  But we have to get more people to do them.  We have medicines that can prolong life.  But more people need access to them.  We have information that can dismantle ignorance.  But more people need to be educated and made aware.  We know what needs to be done.  We must find the will and the resources to do it.

 
Conference Preview

Over the course of the next two days we will be hearing from some of the leading figures in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region.

In a few minutes we'll hear from Dr. M. Rony Francois, the brand new Secretary of Health for the State of Florida.  Dr. Francois is the first Haitian-American to hold a cabinet-level appointment in Florida.  He brings understanding of the Caribbean to his new position – an understanding that promises to further strengthen the partnership between Florida and the region.

We are extremely honored to have Ambassador Randall Tobias with us.  Ambassador Tobias oversees President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a path-breaking and innovative five-year, $15 billion program to support integrated HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment.  Ambassador Tobias has been a trailblazer, journeying throughout the world to support organizations that are working in the field to provide antiretroviral therapy, to promote prevention, care for orphans, and to build health system capacity.  Ambassador Tobias, we look forward to learning from your perspective and experience.

I am personally very gratified that the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Right Honorable Perry Christie, will be addressing us this morning.  Prime Minister Christie and his team have an impressive story to tell of the progress being made here in The Bahamas.  Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your concern and attention to meeting this vital challenge.    

This conference will give us many opportunities to discuss the most pressing issues regarding HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.  We will talk about what makes the Caribbean epidemic unique.  We will look at how to engage the private sector and how we can reduce stigma and discrimination.  We'll share perspectives from the Caribbean's many countries.

The key for all of us, however, will be what happens when the conference ends.  We will undoubtedly have enhanced our own personal understanding.  But if that's all we have done, we will have missed a valuable opportunity.  We should emerge from these two days re-energized to make HIV/AIDS the priority that it needs to be in our countries.  We must be determined to take new and innovative actions.  We must vow to be a useful part of the worldwide community committed to fighting HIV/AIDS, a community whose members should include everyone in this room. 

If we do that, we will have succeeded.

Thank you all and welcome to the conference.