In a speech given at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) on August 16, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton thanked Johns Hopkins University for the role it plays in promoting good health worldwide. Secretary Clinton asserted that foreign policy is inextricably linked to the fight against HIV and AIDS and the advancement of maternal and neonatal health.

“I’ve met HIV-positive farmers in Kenya who now have the strength to spend their day in the fields earning a living thanks to antiretroviral drugs; children in Angola who wake up every morning under bed nets and then head off to school eager to learn, unafflicted by malaria […]”

“[…] these are but a few of the faces of global health that I have seen; people who are not only alive, but also contributing as parents, workers, and citizens, thanks to the governments, organizations, foundations, and universities like Johns Hopkins who collaborate to bring medical care and education about healthy behavior to more parts of the world.”

Secretary Clinton’s speech, “The Global Health Initiative: The Next Phase of American Leadership in Health Around the World”, focused on this centerpiece of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy, and called on governments, organizations and individuals to join the United States in pursuing a sustainable approach for delivering essential health services.

Click here for a full transcript of Secretary Clinton’s remarks.