Statement from the President on the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS

As we mark the 30th year of our fight against HIV/AIDS, I join the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in honoring the memory of all those we have lost to this disease and rededicating ourselves to the fight against this pandemic.  Thanks to an aggressive global response, fewer people are being infected, a diagnosis is no longer a death sentence and more people with HIV/AIDS are living long, vibrant lives.  But so long as tens of millions of people live with this devastating disease, and so long as nearly two million people die from AIDS-related diseases every year, we cannot and will not rest. 

As the global leader in the fight against AIDS, the United States will continue to do our part.  That’s why my Administration has increased funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to record levels, increased our support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and launched our Global Health Initiative to help countries build their capacity to deliver better health care, including for mothers and children with HIV/AIDS.  And we will continue to invest in the pioneering research that holds the promise of new treatments and brings us closer to cures.

Still, it is not enough to simply do the same things the same way.  This week’s meeting at the United Nations is an opportunity for all of us to do better.  More governments need to contribute to this effort.  More awareness is needed so that no one with HIV/AIDS is stigmatized or discriminated against.  More coordination is needed so that the investments we’re making are preventing as many infections, delivering as many treatments and saving as many lives as possible.  No nation can do this alone.  Together, we can resolve to meet our shared responsibilities.  Together, we can come closer to our vision of a world without HIV/AIDS.