HHS Secretary Leavitt and Senior U.S. Government Delegation to Visit Africa

August 15, 2007 - U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael O. Leavitt will lead a U.S. government delegation on a 10-day visit to South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Rwanda to observe U.S.-funded health and social programs in those nations. The delegation of senior officials, which departs on Friday, will visit cities and rural communities that receive life-saving support from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the President’s Malaria Initiative, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, itself a recipient of significant U.S. government funding.

Since 2003 and the creation of the Emergency Plan, HHS’ already important role in international disease prevention has expanded dramatically. Numerous HHS agencies, including the HHS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have financed prevention, care, and treatment programs; supported biomedical and behavioral research, and provided expertise to help countries stop the spread and devastating effects of several major diseases, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Secretary Leavitt and the delegation, which will include Ambassador Mark Dybul, M.D., the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator; RADM Tim Ziemer (USN, ret.), the U.S. Malaria Coordinator; the Honorable Kent Hill, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator for Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development; and Julie L. Gerberding, M.D., Director of HHS/CDC, will meet with many providers and recipients of these interventions.

For more information:

• HHS Secretary to Visit Africa, Stops Include Communities Benefiting from U.S. Government Funding in Fight Against HIV/AIDS and Malaria
• Photo gallery of Secretary Leavitt's trip to Africa

Last revised: August 23, 2007