The United States Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong and a U.S. Government Delegation are scheduled to visit the country for the Inaugural Hosting by Malawi of the 52nd Board Meeting of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
In addition to the 10-person’s delegation participation in the Fund Board sessions from November 18-22, Ambassador Nkengasong will meet President Lazarus Chakwera on collective solutions to sustain efforts to control HIV in the country.
According to a press release from the US Embassy, he will be accompanied by Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State; Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs Loyce Pace; U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator Dr. David Walton of USAID; and other senior U.S. government officials.
The U.S. and Malawi partnership has demonstrated leadership in the global fight against HIV.
As the largest donor to the Global Fund, the U.S. Government has contributed more than $20 billion to the Fund since its creation in 2003.
“U.S. contributions account for 33 percent of the Fund’s total external resources for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, with Malawi being allocated more than $2.1 billion since 2003. In 2023 alone, the U.S. government invested $176 million for HIV through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), $24 million for malaria through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative, and $5 million for tuberculosis through USAID” reads the press release.
Since 2006, interventions and investments of more than $1.8 billion through PEPFAR, and in collaboration with the Global Fund and Malawi Government, reached nearly 940,000 Malawians with HIV treatment, which has suppressed the virus in 95 percent of those on treatment, as reported to UNAIDS.
The press release further states that children, adolescents, especially adolescent girls and key populations, continue to be at risk of HIV requiring innovative treatment and prevention programming.
“The Presidential Malaria Initiative alongside the Global Fund has supported the fight against malaria and is a critical funding source for insecticide-treated nets, malaria diagnosis and treatment, and in supporting stronger, more-resilient health systems”.
The visit is historic as it’s the first one to Malawi by U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Dr. Nkengasong.
He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator May 5, 2022 and officially sworn in on June 13, 2022.
A little over a year later, Nkengasong joined U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to launch State Department’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD) August 1, 2023, which he leads as the Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy.
He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and recognitions. Most recently, he served as one of the World Health Organization Director General’s Special Envoys for COVID-19.
In 2021, Ambassador Nkengasong was recognized as Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, where he was described as “a modern-day hero.”
