When African leaders arrive in Washington this week to meet with President Obama, one of the most politically sensitive issues expected to be discussed is the future of the U.S. commitment to global efforts to deal with HIV/AIDS. For more than a decade, the United States has taken the lead in this fight, providing significant funding — $52 billion so far — to the cause through a program known as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

This Mother's Day, we are reminded once again that mothers are the cornerstone of our communities.  This is an important time to celebrate the exceptional women around the world who strive to keep families and communities together, and sacrifice to ensure the next generation has every opportunity to pursue its dreams. 

Soft power proponents tend to forget that the purpose of soft power, as with public diplomacy more broadly, is to advance the strategic interests of your country. The goal is not be “nice” or transiently popular, but to advance toward your foreign policy goals. Public diplomats are not social workers, and they should not allow themselves to be seen as such.

Soft power proponents tend to forget that the purpose of soft power, as with public diplomacy more broadly, is to advance the strategic interests of your country. The goal is not be “nice” or transiently popular, but to advance toward your foreign policy goals. Public diplomats are not social workers, and they should not allow themselves to be seen as such. 

Health agencies are warning of an “alarming” increase in AIDS-related deaths among adolescents, a new front line in the fight against a global epidemic that has waned in recent years. This worrying new trend is a setback for efforts to eradicate the virus, according to a United Nations report released ahead of World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. Among youth aged 10 to 19, deaths linked to AIDS increased by 50 percent between 2005 and 2012, compared with a 30 percent decline seen in the general population.

Since 2004, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has funded HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs credited with extending the lives of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, which has received the majority of PEPFAR funding, reaching more than $500 million annually. In a place where a positive diagnosis of HIV/AIDS used to be a death sentence, America brought hope for longer lives.

Perhaps the only thing that the average American knows about Rwanda is of the genocide that claimed over a million lives in 1994. When locating Rwanda, a small nation about the size of the state of Maryland, on a map of Africa, most would first notice their looming neighbor to the left, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Kerry said this "victory for the human spirit" shows what can happen when people overcome ideologies and politics. Signed into law by George W. Bush, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, is the world's largest and one of the most successful foreign assistance programs.