Kikwete in Washington for PEPFAR’s 20th anniversary
Former President Jakaya Kikwete is in Washington, United States to participate in the 20th anniversary of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
The event, which has been organised by the George W. Bush Institute at the United States Institute of Peace today (Friday), will focus on the inception of PEPFAR, its enormous impact and how the program is a win for both partner countries and for U.S. Foreign policy.
Apart from Kikwete, other leaders who will join President George W. Bush in the event are Dr Condoleezza Rice, Bill Gates and Mrs George W. Bush.
PEPFAR at 20 is part of the Bush Institute’s body of work advocating for continued support of PEPFAR’s mission and U.S engagement in global health.
According to the George W. Bush Presidential Center website, when President Bush announced PEPFAR in 2003, less than 50,000 people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa had access to antiretroviral therapy.
“Today, PEPFAR has saved an estimated 25 million lives and operates in more than 50 countries, although PEPFAR’s mandate is the prevention, care, and treatment of HIV, its impact has gone well beyond this.
“PEPFAR has strengthened health systems, emboldened democracies, supported economic growth, and advanced progress on human rights,” reads part of the statement on the website.
