August 14, 2008, Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) -- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt and a high-level delegation visited Ethiopia August 9-13 to witness the strong cooperation between the U.S. and Ethiopia in reducing the spread of diseases including HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. The visit, conducted in close cooperation with Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Tewdros Adhanom, showcased the power of partnerships between the American and Ethiopian people in promoting global health.
In Addis Ababa, the delegation met with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, Minister of Health Tewdros, and His Holiness Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos. Secretary Leavitt joined Minister Tewdros and His Holiness the Patriarch for a tour of the U.S.-funded anti-retroviral therapy (ART) clinic at St. Peter’s Specialized TB Clinic. The delegation also visited the holy water site on Entoto Mountain and a USAID-supported urban garden producing food for people living with HIV/AIDS.
On August 11, the Medical Faculty of Addis Ababa University welcomed Secretary Leavitt and Minister Tewdros for a 90-minute “health diplomacy” discussion. Secretary Leavitt talked about his own and his Department’s work, and about the longstanding partnership between our two countries to fight disease, build local capacity, and improve health care infrastructure. In the subsequent discussion, Medical Faculty students and faculty raised important points and questions about health education, training and retention of health professionals, provision of current and appropriate medications, vaccine development and expanding medical laboratory technical expertise.
On August 12, Secretary Leavitt’s delegation accompanied health extension workers in Axum as they visited households in the community to provide health promotion services to families and household members. Ethiopia’s innovative health extension worker program, supported in part through the U.S. President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), helps provide health care to people who live in remote areas and do not have regular access to health clinics.
Later the same day, the delegation met with religious leaders in Lalibela. At the meeting, Secretary Leavitt emphasized the key role religious leaders play in helping their followers prevent the spread of disease, reduce stigma and care for the sick. The religious leaders reiterated a message from His Holiness Patriarch Abune Paulos that holy water and anti-retroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS can be taken together and “neither contradict nor resist each other.”
Supporting Ethiopia’s fight against infectious diseases is one aspect
of the U.S. partnership with the people of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is an important
partner for the U.S. in the global fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria. This
year, the U.S. Government, through the PEPFAR program, has provided more than
U.S. $350 million to Ethiopia in support for the prevention, care, and treatment
of HIV/AIDS. The U.S. Presidential Malaria Initiative has provided an additional
U.S. $20 million in support of anti-malaria efforts. U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services programs to deliver HIV/AIDS health care and services to
the people of Ethiopia and build local capacity are implemented through the
U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has an office in
Addis Ababa.