for that kind introduction.

And, more importantly, I want to say

thank you to Ambassador Deborah Birx

for a lifetime of leadership

advancing the fight against HIV/AIDS,

and, since 2014, as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

We are grateful for your leadership.

(Applause.)

It's made a difference.

To my friend, Congressman Chris Smith,

to Ambassador Green, to Dr. Fauci, to Michel Sidibé,

to distinguished faith and business leaders,

and honored guests,

it is humbling for me to join you all today,

just a few days before the 30th Annual World AIDS Day,

to make the 15th anniversary of PEPFAR,

the most extraordinary and successful

American humanitarian initiative in history.

(Applause.)

And everyone in this room represents organizations,

businesses, and faith-based organizations

who played a critical role

in implementing this extraordinary success

and advancing the progress that we have made,

not just over the last 15 years,

but over the last 30 years, combating HIV and AIDS.

And as I begin, let me bring greetings from a friend of mine

who is a leader committed to the health

and well-being of the American people,

and has brought new and renewed American commitment

to the fight against HIV/AIDS here and around the world.

I bring greetings from the 45th President

of the United States of America,

President Donald Trump.

(Applause.)

And on behalf of the President and the First Family,

welcome to the White House.

This Saturday, December 1st, is World AIDS Day.

And as the President said on that occasion just last year,

it is a day to remember

“those who have lost their lives to AIDS.”

But it's also a day

to “celebrate the remarkable progress”

that “we have made in combating this disease,”

and to “reaffirm our ongoing commitment to end AIDS

as a public health threat.”

And so we gather here today

with so many faith communities and organizations

that have led the fight against this terrible disease.

And it gives me great joy to say

that because of your remarkable work,

and the continued commitment of the American people,

and the support of leaders in both parties

in the Congress of the United States,

we are closer today than ever before

to ending the AIDS crisis in our time.

(Applause.)

It's true.

Now, the credit for this achievement is widely shared,

but faith-based organizations and faith communities

like those represented here have played a preeminent role.

And the leaders in this room have inspired countless others

to put hands and feet on their faith

and bring hope and healing to literally millions of people

around the world suffering with HIV/AIDS.

It is out of a faith tradition —

that I share with many in this room —

we're commanded that when we're sick,

“you cared for me.”

And I want to commend each and every one of you

for making that faith real in the battle against HIV/AIDS

to being there for those in needs.

Thanks to your example, thanks to your generosity,

thanks in —

to the efforts that the organizations here have made,

not only all across Africa but all across the wider world,

you've rescued a generation from this disease.

And every day, one community, one country at a time,

we're achieving what once seemed impossible:

We are controlling the HIV/AIDS pandemic without a vaccine

and without a cure. It is a remarkable testament

to your compassion in your lives.

(Applause.)

It's amazing to think of the progress that we've made.

Over the past 37 years, HIV/AIDS has infected

more than 77 million people worldwide

and claimed no less than 35 million lives,

devastating countless families and communities

around the world.

In response to this health crisis,

the American people did as we always do:

We mobilized the resources of the nation

to fight this epidemic,

not just in our own nation, in our communities,

but ultimately in every corner of the world.

America has been on a long journey fighting this disease

since it first emerged.

And much of the progress that we've made here at home

actually began with one young man's story.

A boy from my home state of Indiana named Ryan White.

Ryan White was just 13 years old when he was diagnosed with AIDS

following a blood transfusion in December of 1984.

He was given six months to live.

His story not only captured the hearts of people

across my home state of Indiana,

but it captured the attention of the nation and the world.

When he returned to school,

facing his diagnosis in that year,

he faced discrimination

and a stigma associated with the disease,

in part due to the misunderstanding about HIV/AIDS

at the time.

But Ryan and his mom didn't give up.

And Jeanne White-Ginder and her courageous son fought —

they fought for his right to go back to school

while he was fighting for his life.

Ryan's story gained national and international attention.

His courage and example though helped educate —

educate the American people about the realities of HIV/AIDS

and it galvanized the United States Congress to act.

In the end, Ryan defied the odds;

he would live for another five years longer

before being laid to rest in the state of Indiana.

He passed away in April of 1990,

just a month before he was ready to graduate from high school.

And only a few months though later,

the Congress of the United States

passed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS

Resource Emergency Act.

And his legacy lives on to this day.

(Applause.)

As we speak, the Ryan White CARE

Act continues to provide vital medical services

to more than 1.1 million people

in the United States living with HIV.

And since the days when Ryan White was first diagnosed,

we've grown in our understanding of HIV/AIDS

and our ability to turn a deadly disease

into a manageable and chronic condition.

Since those early days, the number of new HIV infections

every year in the United States, I'm pleased to report,

has fallen by more than two-thirds —

from 130,000 in 1985, to 50,000 in the year 2010.

We've also put feet on our commitment

not just to confront HIV/AIDS

here in the United States of America

but to fight HIV/AIDS across the wider world.

By the start of the 21st century,

the United States was spending more than $500 million

every year to combat this disease —

more than any other nation.

But we soon realized it was not nearly enough.

Antiretroviral treatments were still too expensive

and hard to access.

HIV was a death sentence for too many around the world.

And it was projected that 100 million people

would contract the virus

by the end of the first decade of this century.

But in 2003 — 15 years ago this year —

under the leadership of President George W. Bush,

and during my and Congressman Smith's tenure

in the Congress of the United States,

the American people acted to confront the worldwide HIV/AIDS

epidemic with American resources and American values.

(Applause.)

President Bush's call to action resulted

in one of the most extraordinary bipartisan achievements

of compassion in our time:

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS

Relief, otherwise known as PEPFAR.

While serving in Congress,

I was on the Foreign Affairs Committee

along with Chris. And we worked in a concerted

and bipartisan way to help forge legislation

that would put the President's vision into reality.

I was honored to be a small part of that.

I was proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder

with my colleagues in those days,

on both sides of the aisle,

to support its reauthorization in 2008.

Since President Bush signed PEPFAR into law,

the United States has devoted more than $80 billion

to prevent HIV infections

and deliver lifesaving treatments to millions.

(Applause.)

This investment in those around the world

suffering with HIV/AIDS

is the largest investments by any nation

to respond to a single disease in human history.

And PEPFAR has not only been the largest investment;

it has been inarguably one of the most successful investment

in healthcare and humanitarian aid in American history.

(Applause.)

Thanks to the generosity of the American people

and the efforts of the organizations

that are so well represented here today,

it's humbling to think, in just 15 years,

this American effort has helped save more than 17 million lives

and prevented millions more from contracting HIV/AIDS

to begin with.

And AIDS-related deaths have been cut in half

since their peak in 2004.

(Applause.)

Like all of you, it's — this is a cause

that's close to the heart of the American people

and close to my heart. And standing before you today,

I couldn't be more pleased with the timing of our gathering.

Because, just last night,

bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate

voted to reauthorize PEPFAR,

and President Donald Trump will soon sign it into law.

(Applause.)

We're grateful for the strong and bipartisan support

in the Congress

for this extraordinary humanitarian effort

by the American people.

President Trump believes this reauthorization

is a critical component of our administration's commitment

to combat AIDS.

And it will build on the renewed energy

and focus that the President has brought,

and our entire administration

have brought to this critical issue.

In fact, last year,

our administration published the first-ever

“Strategy for Accelerating HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control,”

which lays out President Trump's vision

and plan to end the AIDS epidemic as we know it.

And as the State Department's 2018 PEPFAR Strategy Progress

Report shows, under President Trump's leadership,

we're building on our past successes;

we're reaching new milestones in the battle

against this deadly disease.

And as First Lady Melania Trump

saw firsthand in her historic trip across —

across Africa —

four African nations earlier this year:

As of September 2018, PEPFAR

today is supporting more than 14.6 million people

with lifesaving [anti] retroviral treatment,

compared to 50,000 people receiving such treatments

in Africa before 2003.

That represents an increase of nearly 3,000 percent

in just fifteen years that have access

to these lifesaving drugs.

(Applause.)

And thanks to PEPFAR, more than 2.4 million babies

of HIV-positive mothers have been born HIV-free.

More than 6.8 million orphans, vulnerable children,

and their caregivers are surviving and thriving.

And over 270,000 healthcare workers

have been trained to help save lives

in the most vulnerable communities.