Note that the event starts at 16:20:

In addition, here’s a recap of our World AIDS Day conversation on social media:

In 2001, an AIDS pandemic threatened to destroy a generation of Africans. In country after country, people were needlessly dying even though new life-saving antiretroviral drugs were available at a reasonable cost. The humanitarian disaster called for dramatic action.

Against this backdrop, my administration decided to act and become part of the global effort to stop the spread of AIDS in the developing world. We began by helping create the multinational Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. It was a good start, but more was needed. So in 2003, with bipartisan support in Congress, we launched the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to partner with officials in 15 countries hit hardest by the disease. Today, PEPFAR is active in more than 30 countries and, in total, provides funding to programs in 88 countries.

PEPFAR was built on a results-oriented strategy. Our first step was to intervene where we could make an immediate impact.
Unborn children whose mothers are HIV-positive are the saddest victims of the disease and among those who can be helped the most. So we began by providing pregnant women with medications that reduce mother-to-child transmissions of the disease. Then we expanded with prevention programs, care for orphaned children, and anti-retroviral treatments for those who suffer from HIV/AIDS.

I am proud of the contributions made by my fellow citizens. America’s initial PEPFAR commitment was $15 billion over five years. In 2008, the American people renewed their commitment and will now spend an additional $39 billion on PEPFAR and the Global Fund through 2013. I am also proud to have worked with Bono. His encouragement and inspiration played a vital role in winning support for these initiatives.

To some, the fight against HIV in Africa may have once seemed hopeless. A deadly disease with no cure posed a threat to African nations and a challenge to all of humanity. It also fed despair, which can lead to terrorism and violence.

But PEPFAR set the clear goal of saving lives and is getting results. A decade ago, an estimated 50,000 people were receiving antiretroviral treatments in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010, PEPFAR provided antiretroviral treatment to more than 900,000 people in South Africa alone and to approximately 3.2 million people worldwide. Combined, the Global Fund and PEPFAR provided about 4.7 million people across the world with antiretroviral medications last year.

I wish every American could see the individuals whose lives have been transformed by our efforts. Thanks to PEPFAR, approximately 450,000 children have been born HIV-free since 2004 even though their mothers have the disease. I’ve met many HIV-positive mothers who have given birth to healthy children because of PEPFAR. One of them, Kunene Tantoh of South Africa, came to the White House with her son Baron in 2007. Watching him smile, I could see the life and vitality our efforts are making possible. Thanks to treatments she received, Kunene broke HIV’s bonds of death, and Baron was given a chance to live a full and productive life.

Read more about the fight against HIV/AIDS in our new report, “Progress. Proof. Promise.” Download the report here.

The Bush family along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Photo courtesy of the State Department and the George W. Bush Center.

HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age, and women whose immune systems are compromised by HIV are 4 to 5 times more likely to develop cervical cancer. Just as accessing treatment for AIDS can be difficult, the majority of women in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to critical breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment services (there is, for example, only one mammogram machine in all of Zambia.) As a result, according to a new IHME study, global deaths from these diseases continue to rise among women: 200,000 from cervical cancer and 425,000 from breast cancer in 2010 alone.

Fortunately, combining HIV and cervical cancer screening and treatment services is an effective and efficient method of responding to both diseases. Many of the same techniques and entry points that are used for HIV prevention, treatment and care can be successfully combined to screen and treat cervical cancer at minimal additional cost.

Armed with this understanding and committed to doing something about it, former President George W. Bush returned to Washington, DC this week, telling an audience at the Summit to Save Lives that it was “good to be back in the ‘hood” — especially for a great cause. Together with the State Department, PEPFAR, UNAIDS, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and private sector partners, the Bush Institute announced the launch of a new initiative, “Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon,” to fight cervical and breast cancers through existing platforms designed for fighting HIV. Building on his legacy of increasing access to treatment for AIDS while in office, President Bush explained that “it’s not enough to save a woman from AIDS if she is then left to die of another very preventable disease.”

Seeing the HIV/AIDS and women’s cancer communities working together alongside the malaria and maternal child health communities on Day 2 of the Bush Institute’s Summit to Save Lives was heartening. Similarly, it was equally heartening to see bipartisan leaders from two different administrations — President Bush, Secretary Rice, Secretary Clinton and Administrator Shah among them — working together to reinforce a common refrain: that in spite of tough economic times, US investments in global health are smart, working cost-effectively and saving lives.

Now more than ever, that message needs to be echoed on Capitol Hill as members of Congress debate the targets of budget cuts. As Bush Institute Executive Director James Glassman said, “the American people are longing for something bipartisan that works.” These are just the types of issues that should help unify, rather than divide.

Here’s an excerpt:

“On this World AIDS Day, considerable progress has been made. The United Nations recently reported that the world has begun to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. However, considerable need remains. Every human life is precious, and far too many people around the world continue to suffer from the disease.

We still hope for an AIDS vaccine. In the meantime, there are millions on treatment who cannot be abandoned. And the progress in many African nations depends on the realistic hope of new patients gaining access to treatment. Why get tested if AIDS drugs are restricted to current patients? On AIDS, to stand still is to lose ground.

I am happily out of the political business. But I can offer some friendly advice to members of Congress, new and old. A thousand pressing issues come with each day. But there are only a few that you will want to talk about in retirement with your children. The continuing fight against global AIDS is something for which America will be remembered. And you will never regret the part you take.”

Read the full version on the Washington Post’s website. And be sure to check out President Bush and Bono tonight on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” discussing the fight against HIV/AIDS which airs at 6 PM ET.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, President Obama asked Presidents Clinton and Bush to “lead a major fund-raising effort for relief.” They established the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund to help the people of Haiti not just rebuild, but “build back better.”

Earlier this week, Presidents Clinton and Bush traveled to Haiti to assess needs on the ground. They saw the astounding courage and hope of the Haitian people — and their fierce resolution to rebuild. Visit www.clintonbushhaitifund.org for information on how you can help.

Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton clasped hands with residents of one of Haiti’s massive tent cities Monday on a tour of its quake-devastated capital – a visit intended to remind donors of the immense needs facing the recovery effort.

The two former leaders, who were tapped by President Barack Obama to spearhead U.S. fundraising for the crisis, made their first joint visit to Haiti. They spotlighted the dramatic need for help ahead of a critical March 31 U.N. donors conference in New York where Haitian officials will ask for $11.5 billion in reconstruction help.

At a news conference with President Rene Preval on the grounds of the collapsed national palace, Bush said he was struck by the devastation caused by the Jan. 12 earthquake.

“It’s one thing to see it on TV, it’s another to see it firsthand,” said Bush, who was making his first visit to Haiti. “Hopefully our visit will remind people that Haiti needs help.”

An excerpt from a related story in the Washington Post:

“Obama is asking former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to coordinate efforts to involve more Americans in the recovery and rebuilding effort that’s needed in Haiti.”

Click the link below for a clip of Perino’s remarks

-Chris Scott

The article offers many different perspectives and opinions, including those in Africa who have been directly impacted by programs such as PEPFAR, to those who feel the focus on HIV/AIDS has distracted too much attention from other diseases.

Excerpts below, full piece here

Like countless Africans, [Sweetness] Mzolisa looks forward to Barack Obama becoming America’s first black president Jan 20. But — like countless Africans — Mzolisa says she will always be grateful to Bush for his war on AIDS, which has helped to treat more than 2 million Africans, support 10 million more, and revitalize the global fight against the disease.

“It has done a lot for the people of South Africa, for the whole of the African continent,” says Mzolisa, a feisty mother of seven. “It has changed so many people’s lives, saved so many people’s lives.”

Some critics, like rockers-turned-advocates Bono and Bob Geldof, have become admirers.

“The Bush regime has been divisive … created bitterness — but not here in Africa. Here, his administration has saved millions of lives,” Geldof wrote in Time Magazine as he accompanied Bush on an Africa trip last February.

“The administration and Bush himself deserve a lot more credit than they received for getting this job done,” says Josh Ruxin, assistant professor of public health at Columbia University.

-Chris Scott

According to the Gallup poll, “Americans are more positive than negative about the fight against AIDS, with 38% saying the country has made progress over the last eight years and 19% saying it has lost ground.” More than any other issue polled, Americans believe President Bush has gained the most ground in fighting HIV/AIDS.

You can check out the full results here.

-Chris Scott