WASHINGTON \u2014 According to published reports, President Trump has asked Ambassador Deborah Birx, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and the head of PEPFAR, the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, to remain at her post while her successor is identified. The ONE Campaign \u2014 the global policy and advocacy organization cofounded by Bono to fight to end extreme poverty and stop the spread of preventable diseases, like AIDS \u2014 applauded the decision.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Tom Hart, executive director for North America at ONE, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe importance of America\u2019s leadership to the global fight against AIDS is difficult to overstate. The fact is: this is a critical time in that fight, especially for adolescent girls, who comprise three-quarters of all new infections in Africa. We\u2019re in a make-or-break window, and we can\u2019t afford to let up \u2014 not even during a presidential transition. Global AIDS Coordinator is a position that should not be left vacant for a month, a week, or even a day.<\/p>\n \u201cONE applauds President Trump\u2019s decision \u2014 and the efforts of Vice President Pence and Ivanka Trump \u2014\u00a0to retain Ambassador Birx as the Global AIDS Coordinator until her successor can be found. America\u2019s commitment to the global fight against AIDS has long transcended partisanship, and it\u2019s a relief that the transition will not disrupt PEPFAR\u2019s transformative life-saving work. Ambassador Birx has served admirably these last three years, and is deserving of the trust President Trump has placed in her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe importance of America\u2019s leadership to the global fight against AIDS is difficult to overstate. The fact is: this is a critical time in that fight, especially for adolescent girls, who comprise three-quarters of all new infections in Africa. We\u2019re in a make-or-break window, and we can\u2019t afford to let up \u2014 not even during a presidential transition. Global AIDS Coordinator is a position that should not be left vacant for a month, a week, or even a day.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"contributor":[],"class_list":["post-134986","one_press","type-one_press","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n