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| REMARKS BY: | TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES |
| PLACE: | "Framework for Partnership" Initiative, Georgetown, Guyana |
| DATE: | April 30, 2002 |
Minister Ramsammy, thank you for your kind introduction. Your excellency President Jagdeo, fellow ministers, Dr. Piot, distinguished guests, thank you for meeting me here in Georgetown.
You know, Harry Truman once said that "if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." I'm glad to know I have real friends in Guyana.
We are here today to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS. It's a disease that recognizes no boundaries. And so, when fighting it, neither can we.
My friends, we're here today to extend to you and to the Caribbean the hand of partnership as we fight this disease.
We have as much to learn from this partnership as you do from us. Disease and demographic patterns in the Caribbean frequently mirror those in the United States.
By pooling our technical know-how and common experiences, we can benefit greatly from one another's knowledge. We pledge to working with you to build capacity for epidemiological surveillance, research, counseling, and testing.
President Bush has said that the U.S. is "committed to deepening our cooperation throughout the hemisphere in fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS."
This was one of the goals at the heart of the Third Border Initiative launched with the countries of the Caribbean in April of last year, and the reason he has asked me to come here today.
We are therefore committed to vastly increasing assistance in health throughout the world, and especially in the Caribbean.
My friends, let me emphasize our deep commitment to working with the Caribbean nations in the improvement of your health care systems.
The Caribbean nations are important partners not only in the fight against HIV but also in issues of trade, education, and regional democracy.
But it is HIV that is taking the lives of one of our most precious resources - our youth.
As I said, HIV knows no boundaries. Today we will discuss the "air bridge" that links our nations. Many individuals and families frequently travel between the U.S. and their Caribbean homes.
This is a public health issue, and we will discuss ways to more effectively care for those individuals with HIV/AIDS who use the "air bridge," so we can minimize as much as possible the disparities in their treatment and their access to drugs.
We must emphasize that prevention is still the best and only sure way to fight HIV. And we must take this message to those who are already HIV-positive.
Part of our discussion today will be on how we can work together to get this message out.
We also want to increase hope through expanded access to care and treatment.
We believe the global fund to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria will provide critical support to expand prevention, care and treatment programs around the world and here in the West Indies.
I have the honor of serving as the U.S. representative to the Global Fund board, which will be meeting in New York this coming Monday through Wednesday, and, as you know, the United States fought hard in the negotiations to establish the Global Fund to make sure proposals from the Caribbean nations would be eligible for consideration.
I am pleased to say that the technical review panel of the fund has recommended one application from this region, from Haiti, to the board.
My department will be pleased, along with our partners from USAID, to provide technical assistance to other applications from the region in coming rounds.
The United States has been committed to the global fund from day one, ever since President Bush and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stood together at the White House last May to announce our founding contribution of $200 million.
We have now increased our pledge to $500 million, and we are proposing to spend $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2003 to help fight HIV/AIDS in the developing world.
As you know, both at the Monterrey Conference on Financing for International Development and at the Inter-American Development Bank, President Bush has also announced a recent commitment to vastly increase us overseas assistance including assistance for health.
The United States will contribute $5 billion over the next 3 budget years as part of the new compact -- the largest three-year increase in history.
These funds will go into a new millennium challenge account will provide additional resources to countries that maintain good governance, invest in the health and education of their people, and maintain sound economic policies that foster enterprise and entrepreneurship.
The new compact recognizes that economic development assistance can be successful only if it is linked to sound policies in developing countries. We hope that the sound policies matched with energetic and visionary leadership that we see here in this region will make the Caribbean countries eligible for this new approach.
My friends, we are here to listen. We are here to help. And we are here to work together. Let us come away from the table with new insight and a plan of action to continue our framework for partnership.
Thank you so very much.