July 25
Chappaqua, NY

Credit: Clinton Foundation Laying a wreath at the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Center in Rwanda

The next day, I flew to Kigali, Rwanda and met with President Paul Kagame and the nation’s first lady, Jeanette Kagame. Both of them have been very active in fighting HIV/AIDS in their country. President Kagame is working with my Foundation to provide more antiretroviral drug treatments to their nation’s children and to people living in rural areas. In the last year, Rwanda tripled the number of its citizens receiving antiretroviral drug treatments to over 13,000 and increased treatment sites from 20 to 57. My Foundation will donate treatments for 2,500 children this year and is working with Partners in Health to provide HIV/AIDS care to rural areas. Rwanda could one day serve as a model for its handling of the pandemic outside of cities and towns. Later that day, I visited the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Center, which commemorates the horrific slaughter of approximately 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus by the Hutu majority in 1994. The genocide memorial is located on a hill facing downtown Kigali, and the mass graves contained within are a somber reminder of the terrible suffering that took place in Rwanda only

a decade ago. I laid a wreath at one grave and visited the museum, which featured a history of the genocide and an especially moving tribute to all the young people whose lives were lost. Our young guide lost his big brother and sister-in-law -- six family members in all. Photos of countless children were displayed, all of whom were murdered in the genocide. No visitor to the memorial could ever forget what happened in Rwanda; I hope that it will ensure that it will not happen again, and I am honored to have played a small role in its construction.

I left Africa more hopeful about our ability to overcome the HIV/AIDS crisis there, because of the many inspiring health care professionals and dedicated leaders I met, the people whose lives have been saved by their efforts and ours, and the young people who are speaking out against denial and discrimination. We have a long, long way to go, but at least things are moving, and there are systems in place that will allow us to expand care and treatment as rapidly as we have the funds to do so.

July 21
Zanzibar, Tanzania

After visiting Mozambique, Lesotho, and South Africa, I traveled north to Tanzania, home of Mount Kilimanjaro. On Wednesday morning, I visited the Statehouse in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s capital. If current conditions continue, Tanzania’s average life expectancy will decline from 61 years to 46 years

due to HIV/AIDS deaths alone. I met with President Benjamin Mkapa, who is doing everything he can to combat the pandemic in his country. We lit a peace candle to celebrate the launch of his Mkapa Fellows Program, which will train skilled health professionals to provide treatment in the rural areas where most Tanzanians live. Until now, most HIV/AIDS health care programs have not reached beyond cities and towns. My Foundation is providing technical assistance and discounted antiretroviral drug treatments to support President Mkapa’s crucial efforts. I met a woman at the Mkapa Fellows Program launch who was HIV-positive and whose husband

Credit: Clinton Foundation Lighting a torch with Tanzanian President Mkapa to mark the establishment of the Mkapa Medical Fellows Program

had died from AIDS. She had assumed she would also die soon, but because she now has access to antiretroviral drug treatments, she once again has hope that she can liveto raise her son, who did not contract HIV. Helping people like this woman and her son makes my Foundation’s work in Africa truly rewarding. Tanzania has an ambitious plan to increase the number of people receiving treatment, so I look forward to hearing more stories of second chances and renewed hope.

While in Dar es Salaam, I visited the United States Embassy. In 1998 it was bombed by Al Qaeda, along with our embassy in Kenya. Visiting the embassy brought back the horror of that tragedy, and it reminded me of that day when many good people were killed simply because they were Americans, or Africans who worked with us. On Wednesday’s visit, I met with embassy personnel, including several who were present at the time of the bombing. We gathered at the new embassy, a much more serene location built according to the standards recommended by Admiral Bill Crowe’s Commission on Embassy Security, which I convened shortly after the bombings.

The next day I traveled from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar, Tanzania. Until my Foundation got involved, virtually no one in Zanzibar received antiretroviral drug treatments for HIV/AIDS. We’re now working to change that by providing discounted medicines, but we need to create a change in attitudes, as well. People with HIV/AIDS have traditionally been stigmatized in Zanzibar, and that’s a tragedy because the fear of stigmatization prevents many people from getting tested at all. When I spoke in Zanzibar, I tried to explain that it’s okay to touch or hug someone with AIDS, and that people with HIV/AIDS should be able to lead lives that are not just healthy, but also normal and free from discrimination. I was very moved by the testimonials I heard from two HIV-positive women who are speaking out against discrimination, and by the people I met who were there because our partnership with Tanzania made medicine available to them.

It was very exciting to visit Zanzibar. Ever since reading about the area as a young boy, I had dreamed of seeing the exotic land once called the Spice Islands. Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar, is a beautiful little city consisting of narrow alleys that lead to houses with impressively carved wooden doors, mosques, and bazaars. Next, I travel on to Kenya and Rwanda.