Press Release: President Clinton to Visit Pediatric AIDS Clinic in Mozambique, Beginning Trip to Africa to Focus on AIDS Care

President Bill Clinton will begin a weeklong tour of Africa on Sunday, July 17 in Maputo, Mozambique, visiting the Pediatric Day Hospital, where over 300 children are receiving antiretroviral therapy for AIDS.

The six nation visit will focus on the Clinton Foundation's efforts to help governments scale-up integrated treatment, care and prevention programs, and in particular, on the Pediatric and Rural Initiatives announced by the Clinton Foundation in April.

President Clinton will visit Mozambique from July 17-18, 2005, to review progress on the five-year national HIV/AIDS treatment plan the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative helped develop and began implementing in 2003/2004. President Clinton will reaffirm his Foundation's focus on extending treatment to one of Africa's most vulnerable groups – children living with HIV/AIDS.

In Mozambique, President Clinton will announce the creation of Mozambique's second specialized pediatric care center in the city of Beira, along with the Irish Minister for International Development, Conor Lenihan, and the Mozambican Minister of Health, Dr. Paulo Ivo Garrido. The center is a collaborative effort among the Ministry of Health, the Clinton Foundation, Development Cooperation Ireland, the Italian non-governmental organization CUAMM, and UNICEF. This integrated care facility will serve as a Pediatrics Center of Excellence for the Central Region of the country, providing quaternary care referral services and clinical training to serve the needs of over 7 million people.

Since 2002, the Clinton Foundation has supported the scale-up of treatment and care using affordable antiretrovirals, with the target of placing 130,000 Mozambicans on treatment by 2008. Access to Clinton Foundation-negotiated prices for antiretrovirals has helped increase the number of Mozambicans on treatment six-fold, from approximately 2,000 to over 12,000. Through its NGO care partner Health Alliance International (HAI), CHAI is helping Mozambique's Ministry of Health to develop a management team to coordinate and integrate HIV/AIDS treatment inside of the national health delivery system.

As part of its Pediatric Initiative, which aims to put a minimum of 10,000 children in the developing world on treatment by the end of the year, the Clinton Foundation will help increase the number of children in treatment in Mozambique from approximately 700 today to over 6,500 by 2006. In addition to helping to procure low-cost pediatric antiretrovirals, the Clinton Foundation will support the training of over 100 clinicians to provide treatment to HIV-positive children.

The Irish Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Development & Human Rights, His Excellency Conor Lenihan, is leading an Irish delegation to coincide with President Clinton's visit. Minister Lenihan commended the strong leadership shown by the Mozambican Ministry of Health in coordinating HIV/AIDS services within the health sector, and reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to the successful partnership among the Ministry of Health in Mozambique, Development Cooperation Ireland and the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative. Ireland will be providing a total of 40 million Euro (50 million US Dollars) between 2003 and 2007, of which 12 million Euro (15 million US Dollars) will be disbursed to HIV/AIDS and health in Mozambique in 2006, in keeping with its agreement signed with the William J. Clinton Foundation in July 2003.

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