Clinton to address International AIDS conference

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will address the opening plenary session of the 19th International AIDS Conference on July 23.

Clinton will make her remarks at AIDS 2012 at 10 a.m. on July 23 at the Washington Convention Center.

The president is not scheduled to attend the conference, which takes place July 22-27 in Washington, but will send a video message to attendees. The White House also will host a reception on July 26 to honor those fighting HIV/AIDS and send senior administration staff to the conference. In addition to Clinton, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will attend, as well as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby, White House Office of National AIDS Policy director Grant Colfax and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci.

The biennial conference brings together scientists, policymakers, implementers and people living with HIV and AIDS to explore progress in fighting the disease and chart new goals and strategies.

The conference is returning to the United States after a 22-year absence following the administration’s repeal of HIV-related entry restrictions.

Clinton’s remarks will be streamed live at www.kff.org/aids2012. 

Other State Department officials scheduled to participate in the conference include Thomas Nides, deputy secretary of state; Ambassador Melanne Verveer of the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues; and Lois Quam, executive director of the Secretary’s Global Health Initiative.

On the Web: AIDS.gov and AIDS2012.org.

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