U.S. Efforts in the Global Fight Against HIV/AIDS Tour - African Journalists

June 19-30, 2005, Washington, DC, Atlanta, New York
Contact: Washington Foreign Press Center Program Officer Jennifer Archibeque
Telephone: 202-504-6319, Email: jennifera@state.gov

The Washington Foreign Press Center tour brought seven radio and print journalists from Africa to the U.S.   The reporters participating in the tour were from Nigeria, Tanzania, Namibia, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique, and Malawi.  The tour began in Washington where journalists focused on various aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with special attention on the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).  After spending three days in Washington and meeting with key USG offiicial including Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Randall Tobias and Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health, journalists traveled to Atlanta where they met with scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and with NGOs who assist people living with HIV/AIDS.

Journalists ended their tour in New York City, where they spent a day at the United Nations, visited with representatives from the Council on Foreign Relations and interviewed members of the Catholic Medical Mission Board about faith-based initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS.  The tour enabled reporters to gain a broader understanding of U.S. efforts to fight the epidemic at various levels within the government and through NGOs.