Deborah Birx Confirmed as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator

Today we congratulate Deborah Birx, M.D. on her official confirmation as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. In her new role, Dr. Birx will lead the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and oversee its important partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) has long-standing relationships with PEPFAR and the Global Fund, working hand-in-hand to address HIV/AIDS worldwide.

As our president and CEO, Charles Lyons, said in a statement about Dr. Birx’s nomination earlier this year, “Her advocacy for the growth and scale-up of PEPFAR’s programs to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV has been invaluable – today PEPFAR has averted more than 1 million pediatric HIV infections. Her vast experience, including her most recent position as director of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS, makes her well-suited to take on this new role.

“Dr. Birx has been a long-time friend and ally of EGPAF and I look forward to working with her more as we continue our mission to achieve an AIDS-free generation.”

For more than a decade, EGPAF has partnered with PEPFAR to provide HIV-positive mothers around the world with services to prevent the transmission of HIV to their children.