Embassy of the United States

2008 Auxillia Chimusoro Awards

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McGee with Dr. Mary Elena Pesaresi, Hospital head of the Luisa Guidoti Hospital in Mutoko

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McGee with Dr. Mary Elena Pesaresi, Hospital head of the Luisa Guidoti Hospital in Mutoko

Remarks by James D. McGee, U.S. Ambassador at the 8th Auxillia Chimusoro Awards Ceremony, Harare, December 3rd 2008

I want to start today with a note that is not necessarily a part of the program but one that I think is very important that we talk about. Emmanuel (Manika), thank you very much for stepping in at short notice to MC this very very special event.

Many of you know Jestina Mukoko who is supposed to be our MC today.  Jestina is the Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, a grouping of church and human rights organizations in Zimbabwe. She is also a member of the board of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and does a lot of good work on human rights issues in Zimbabwe; she is a well known throughout the country.

Unfortunately, this morning at 5 am, eight men and a woman entered Jestina’s house and abducted her, they took her away. Fortunately, her child was not hurt. She was not allowed to dress, she was not allowed to put on her glasses. They took her away in her night-dress.

And we have been searching frantically for Jestina since then, we have not found her. What I am calling upon is the people who perpetrated, whether it’s the government, the police or whoever, release Jestina now. We need her to be released.  

Auxillia Chimusoro’s Family Members

Heads of Agencies

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to welcome you to the 8th Annual Auxillia Chimusoro Awards. (See also: http://harare.usembassy.gov/aux_2008winners.html)

Since 2000, the United States Government has paid tribute to the life and work of Auxillia, one of the first Zimbabweans to publicly disclose her HIV status, while at the same time recognizing the many organizations and individuals working in the HIV and AIDS sector in Zimbabwe. In 2008, this recognition is particularly fitting as our theme is “Celebrate Life”. 

Just five years ago, only 50,000 people living with HIV in all of sub-Saharan Africa were receiving antiretroviral treatment. Since then, the United States has made the largest commitment in history by any nation to combat a single disease internationally.  Through PEPFAR, the U.S. Government has already provided $18.8 billion in HIV/AIDS funding, and the U.S. Congress has authorized up to $48 billion for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria over the next five years.  USG support to the Global Fund has already supported 1.7 million people on treatment, care for more than 6.6 million people including 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children, and prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission during nearly 12.7 million pregnancies—allowing an estimated 194,000 children to be born HIV free.  However, there is no way to quantify our greatest collective achievement—the spread of hope and through it, the celebration of life. 

The United States Government and our Zimbabwean partners have made tangible and remarkable progress on all fronts in the fight against HIV and AIDS. The United States Government proudly supports the power of multi-sectoral partnerships in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, the National AIDS Council, non-governmental, faith- and community-based organizations, the private sector and people living with HIV/AIDS.   This support has ensured improved health outcomes for many people living with HIV/AIDS through increased access to antiretroviral treatment, care and support.  We support a wide array of prevention interventions whose effectiveness is demonstrated in the remarkable decrease in in adult HIV prevalence, from 19.4 percent in 2005 to 15.6 percent in 2007. 

In spite of the operational difficulties, the USG’s HIV program had significant impact this year.   Virtually every condom in Zimbabwe was procured with USG funding-- over 100 million this year alone.  In addition, the USG reached more than 11,000 pregnant women with ART, 71,000 Zimbabweans with palliative care, and 165,000 OVC with at least two services.  Well over 250,000 Zimbabweans received high quality testing through a network of 20 VCT centers and we also continued to provide 40,000 individuals with ARVs through the public health system. 

Today, we celebrate the faith- and community-based organizations that are mobilizing communities to provide compassionate care.  We celebrate the HIV-positive mother who can now give birth to a beautiful, healthy, HIV-free baby.  We celebrate the people living with HIV/AIDS, whose hope for a brighter future has been restored by life-saving treatment, and who have now dedicated themselves to preventing the spread of HIV and to serving others living with the virus.

In memory of Auxillia Chimusoro, I call for renewed leadership in eradicating stigma and discrimination associated with HIV. The numbers directly and indirectly affected by HIV are still staggering, and AIDS remains among the leading causes of death in Zimbabwe. Despite the groundbreaking work of Auxillia and others, stigma is still the single biggest barrier to individual and public action on HIV and AIDS and is a major reason why the epidemic continues to wreak its devastation around the world.

I applaud the brave individuals who celebrate life by living openly with HIV, and the individuals and organizations present today who advocate tirelessly for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.

I thank you

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