Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Associated Press - Thursday, November 28, 2002
George Gedda, Associated Press Writer
It is believed to be the first time all ambassadors from governments accredited in Washington will have gathered to hear a message on a public health issue, says Jack Chow, who serves as the U.S. ambassador on the AIDS issue.
"We know that national political leaders who are willing to speak out and commit their governments to a course of constructive action in combination with public health investment can make a difference," Chow said in an interview Wednesday.
Next week's ceremony in the State Department's main reception room is being held in connection with World AIDS Day, observed on Sunday, which will feature activities around the globe aimed at highlighting the HIV/AIDS scourge.
Chow cites the example set by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who recognized early on in his tenure that AIDS posed a threat to the country's national security. He personally oversaw the creation of a joint center for research studies.
As a result, Chow says, Uganda is one example of where "a leader made a tangible, concrete difference at the grass roots level."
He said assertive leadership in Senegal and Thailand have produced similar results.
Chow won't say the incidence of HIV/AIDS is declining in these countries but contends they have "been able to deflect the rate below that of their neighbors."
He hopes the experiences of these countries can be replicated in what he calls the "special risk countries" - Nigeria, Ethiopia, China, India and Russia, all of which face a growing incidence of HIV/AIDS.
"We are making entreaties in these countries to engage the leaders. They need to mobilize their citizenry," Chow says. He adds that the potential for catastrophe is high because all have areas of high population densities with relatively weak public health systems.
Chow became interested in AIDS years ago when he saw his friends in medical school in San Francisco dying from the disease.
"I pledged to do all I could," he says. "It is a personal honor to be America's first ambassador dedicated to health. I feel passionate about it. I'm energized by knowing that we can turn it around."
One cause for optimism is that treatment costs for AIDS are trending downward. Chow recalls that when antiretovirals were new on the market, they cost $10,000 to $12,000 per patient per year. Now some cost as little as a few hundred dollars a year.
But, he says, the distance yet to be traveled was underscored in a new United Nations report which estimated that 3 million people around the world have died from AIDS this year and an additional 5 million are newly infected. There are 42 million cases of AIDS worldwide.
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