George W. Bush: “The creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in 2002, and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) in 2003, tested the proposition that large-scale treatment, prevention and compassionate care could be done in nations with weak health systems. Some were skeptical, particularly about the possibility of treatment. That skepticism has now proved unfounded.

In 2003, there were just 50,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa on antiretroviral therapy to suppress HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Today, more than 4.7 million people receive AIDS treatment through Pepfar and the Global Fund. At least 450,000 children have been born HIV-negative due to Pepfar’s diagnosis and treatment programs that prevent mother-to-child transmission.”