[…] “Pursuant to section 201 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621), I hereby report that I have exercised my authority to declare a national emergency in order to be prepared in the event of a rapid increase in illness across the Nation that may overburden health care resources.”

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.

[…] The President’s new global health initiative will be a crucial component of American foreign policy and a signature element of smart power. Bringing better health to people around the globe is an avenue to a more secure, stable, and prosperous world

[…] In the 21st century, disease flows freely across borders and oceans, and, in recent days, the 2009 H1N1 virus has reminded us of the urgent need for action. We cannot wall ourselves off from the world and hope for the best, nor ignore the public health challenges beyond our borders. An outbreak in Indonesia can reach Indiana within days, and public health crises abroad can cause widespread suffering, conflict, and economic contraction.

[…] Let us remember that polio was once a global menace. Now it is on the run. Smallpox was once a commonplace killer. Now it is invoked largely as a doomsday bio-terror scenario. Even measles has been cut down to size; through UNICEF and the World Health Organization, the UN has slashed global deaths from measles by 74 percent over the past seven years. My friends, it is time to add malaria to that list.

[…] When PEPFAR was announced, the President set out aggressive goals of supporting treatment for 2 million people, preventing 7 million new infections, and care for 10 million people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children. It is estimated that in 2003, only 50,000 people living with HIV in all of Sub-Saharan Africa were receiving antiretroviral treatment. Ahead of schedule, the United States has fulfilled its commitment to support treatment for 2 million people.

[…] “I like to come here because I get a chance [to] learn,” said 13-year-old Zama, one of 300 children who were selected for the Ambassador’s Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP) funded by the U.S. government. All the children, 150 girls and 150 boys, have been orphaned or infected by HIV/AIDS. They faced bleak and, in some cases, short futures before they were brought into the program, which is run by the Humana People to People charity.

[…] The children were ecstatic to have standing before them Kami, the star of Takalani Sesame, the South African spin-off of the American children’s television program Sesame Street. Kami showed up at the Soweto Hospice and the Mapetla Day Care Center on October 13 to commemorate World Hospice and Palliative Care Day and to thank the U.S. government for its part in combating the scourge that is sickening and killing millions of South Africans.

[…] With support from PEFPAR, Mututa sends caregivers into local homes to nurse patients with AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses. One of these patients, an HIV-positive boy named Raphael, was orphaned at the age of three. He was near death when a Mututa caregiver found him and started him on antiretroviral treatment. Now at the age of ten, Raphael told me he was first in his class and he was planning on attending the University of Zambia. His caregiver is still with him, and like a father to him now.

[…] Today, President Bush signed into law H.R. 5501, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act. This legislation responds to the President's call last year to expand our commitment to this successful program for five additional years. In 2003, President Bush launched the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to combat global HIV/AIDS – the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in human history.

[…] When the program first was announced in 2003, it was estimated that only 50,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa were receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS. As of September 30, 2007, approximately 1,445,500 men, women and children are receiving life-saving anti-retroviral treatment, including 1,358,500 in the 15 focus countries. Sixty-two percent of those treated in the focus countries are women and girls and nearly 86,000 are children under age 14.

[…] Recognizing that HIV/AIDS is a global health crisis requiring immediate action, President George W. Bush and a bipartisan Congress launched the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, the largest public health initiative ever undertaken against a single disease. PEPFAR supports concerned and active citizens in nations affected by HIV/AIDS as they lead their own fight against HIV/AIDS.

[…] I want to start by thanking Ambassador Mark Dybul, who is the Global AIDS Coordinator. His job is to make sure that America's great compassion is effective and widespread; that the goals we have set are met. And I -- Mr. Ambassador, you're doing a fine job and I want to thank you very much for serving. I also want to thank Pastor Dennis Yocum, the pastor of this church. Dennis, I want to thank you for your hospitality -- it's not easy to host the President and all those who follow the President.

[…] Today, President and Mrs. Bush will mark World AIDS Day 2007 by participating in a faith-based roundtable discussion at Calvary United Methodist Church in Mount Airy, Maryland. This World AIDS Day, the U.S. Government is highlighting the important role of faith- and community-based organizations in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The President and Mrs. Bush will discuss the global response to HIV/AIDS with U.S.

[…] On the eve of World AIDS Day, President Bush renewed his pledge to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. “The pandemic of HIV/AIDS can be defeated,” he said November 30, through international cooperative efforts such as his President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

[…] With 650 employees across the African continent and another 60,000 employed by independent bottling companies licensed to use its trademark, Coca-Cola has long been committed to educating its workers about HIV/AIDS. But, according to David Brown, director of employee relations for the Atlanta soft drink company, stigma keeps some HIV-infected employees from coming forward to accept free anti-retroviral treatment or counseling. “This is not a Coca-Cola issue only,” he said, “but an Africa-wide issue.” In fact, he said, experts are unlikely to report progress on erasing that stigma.

[…] ...PEPFAR is "connecting the dots of international development" by increasingly linking its programs with other development initiatives that are having a real impact in countries and communities. These include the President’s Malaria Initiative, to increase the impact on public health and reach more at-risk populations; the African Education Initiative, to improve educational opportunities for Africa’s children; U.S.-supported food aid programs, to bolster nutrition among those with AIDS; and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, to promote sustainable economic growth.