U.S. Ambassador-at-Large, Deborah L. Birx, M.D., members of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and Middle Tennessee health organizations met at Nashville CARES to discuss effective and innovative programs that address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Ambassador Birx is the Coordinator of the United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. She is a world-renowned medical expert and leader in the field of HIV/AIDS. Her three-decade-long career has focused on HIV/AIDS immunology, vaccine research, and global health. As the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, Ambassador Birx oversees the implementation of the PEPFAR, the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history, as well as all U.S. government engagement with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Serving as the U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, she aligns the U.S. government’s diplomacy with foreign assistance programs that address global health challenges and accelerate progress toward: achieving an AIDS-free generation; ending preventable child and maternal deaths; and preventing, detecting, and responding to infectious disease threats.
“Nashville CARES was honored to host Ambassador Birx and to elaborate on our work toward ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Middle Tennessee,” said Nashville CARES CEO, Joseph Interrante. “Programs at Nashville CARES provide a model for changing the paradigm in the way community organizations like CARES can and should respond to their local epidemics."
PEPFAR’s visit to Nashville is part of an initiative to talk to local AIDS service organizations and community-based organizations about effective programs in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS. Successful programs in an effort to share best practices and lessons learned in the domestic and global HIV/AIDS response.
“We are all working toward the same goal: an AIDS-free generation,” said Birx. “HIV/AIDS is a global epidemic, but ending it starts at the local level.”
In addition to Nashville CARES, today’s meeting included Ron Crowder, Executive Director of Street Works and Freida Outlaw, M.D., of Meharry Medical College.
About PEPFAR
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the U.S. government initiative to save the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS around the world. This historic commitment is the largest by any nation to combat a single disease internationally, and PEPFAR investments also help alleviate suffering from other diseases across the global health spectrum. PEPFAR is driven by a shared responsibility among donor and partner nations and others to make smart investments to save lives. For more information about PEPFAR, visit www.PEPFAR.gov, www.twitter.com/PEPFAR, or www.facebook.com/PEPFAR.