Diary Prequel Package — page 213

know that I am pushing to have the immigration ban lifted in time to make the decision to have the meeting in DC. The ban has been lifted by law and is now in public comment for final lifting by HHS. Also, they wanted me to help get Michelle Obama or the POTUS to open the meeting in 2012. Night of July 18, went to terrific dinner at a vineyard (Stillness Manor) hosted in my honor by Linda-Gail Bekker. Linda Gail turned out to be fantastic as a major player in the Cape Town (and all of SA) AIDS clinical trials network that NIAID supports. Met with many South Africans to whom I told the story of PEPFAR. Only a few of them actually knew how it started: John Hargrove, Robin Wood (Linda-Gail's husband), Brian Williams, Brian Brink, Des Martin, among others. Sunday, July 19, took tour of Robben Island with Gray Handley. It was an incredibly moving experience. The tour guide was a person who was imprisoned there for 5 1⁄2 years. I saw Nelson Mandela's cell, the quarry where he worked at hard labor and the place where he planted his garden in the exercise courtyard of the prison. That evening, I attended the opening ceremony of the IAS Conference. Monday, July 20. Visited the Township of Gugulethu and participated in the launching of the SAAVI102/HVTN 073 vaccine trial, which is a collaboration between the NIAID and the South Africans on a DNA prime MVA boost vaccine. The South Africans involved are Linda-Gail in CT and Glenda Gray in Durban (KwaZulu-Natal) Collaboration also with VRC (Gary Nabel). Big ceremony at the launching with the Minister of Science and technology (Dr. Pandor - woman), Anthony (Tony) Mbewu - head of SA MRC, and Minister of Health Matsoaledi. I was very moved by the terrible conditions of poverty in the Township of Gugulethu, but was equally impressed with what was being accomplished by the roll-out of PEPFATR by Linda-Gail in this setting. The extraordinary overlap and burden of disease with TB here and in Masiphumelele (see below) was staggering. 30% of patients on the PEPFAR program were diagnosed and were on treatment for TB when they entered program. Another 20% were diagnosed with TB when they got there and another 10% developed TB during the time that they were there. In the early afternoon (1:00 PM I gave the Plenary Keynote at the meeting on the subject of "US Sponsored HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention: Science and Policy". Following my talk was a talk by Eric Goosby, the new head of the Office of Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC). The session was devoted to AIDS science and policy in the new Obama administration. My talk was very well received. I emphasized the science but also stressed that the needle exchange ban would soon be over as would be the immigration constraints, as would be abstinence only. I clearly stated that abstinence only does not work. The crowd loved it. That night had reception at the Consul-General's (Alberta Mayberry) home (amazingly beautiful view of CT from her terrace. All the implementers of PEPFAR were there from USAID, CDC, and South Africans. I gave a short speech sincerely thanking them for their work, and told them the story of PEPFAR. Eric Goosby also gave a speech