I served as a civil servant and supervising health science specialist in USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS for 16 years.
My team’s focus was HIV testing and diagnosis and behavior change around HIV prevention and treatment for the PEPFAR program. We were aiming for control of the HIV pandemic by meeting the UN global targets for 2030: 95% of persons with HIV diagnosed, on treatment and virally suppressed. We were nearly on track.
It is (or perhaps soon, ‘was’) one of the most successful public health initiatives ever undertaken. Over 20 million people were supported on treatment as USAID was shut down. The cumulative losses and willful destruction of this and other global health programs is heartbreaking, immoral and makes everyone less safe.
In 2025, I moved with my family to Germany and am now working on global public health in Europe, continuing efforts to make the world a healthier place.
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