Diary Prequel Package — page 263

AIDS Conference Back to the Raj Shah intrigue. On Raj's suggestion, Yesterday's scheduled meeting now a phone call among me, Eric, Raj, Tom Frieden. Raj wanted to again bring up the possibility of doing something "big" since he feels that the POTUS will not have another opportunity. After much discussion we explained to Raj again that "Blue Sky", i.e. $2.5 billion will never get by OMB or the Congress and even so, the best way forward according to the models is not to just pick out a few countries and full-court-press. Raj goes along and we think it is over. Apparently, immediately after the call, Raj calls Rick Klausner asking him to convince me to not give in and adopt his plan. Rick calls me on my way to The Inn at Little Washington for my delayed 70th birthday present from Denise from last December. We are in the limo (rented by Denise) and Rick tries to convince me to re-convene the group. He says that Raj feels that I am the only one who could do this. Raj just does not want to give up. However, out of want to go the extra mile, I will call up Eric and Tom. Nov. 11, 2011 - I call Eric and Tom and explain situation with Raj. I convince them to give it one more try. Both are extremely skeptical, impatient and wary of Raj. However, I indicate that we must ask Raj to be very specific in what he wants to do and how he wants to do it and where are we going to get the money. Raj has always been very vague about all of these issues. He just keeps saying that what Eric is proposing is old stuff and incremental and that he wants to suggest to the POTUS something big and transforming. I will write an e-mail and detail the conditions of another teleconference and/or meeting. Nov. 15, 2011 - At the invitation of Alan Murray (Senior Editor of Wall Street Journal) I spoke at the Wall Street Journal-sponsored CEO Council event at The Four Seasons in Georgetown. My purpose was to convince the CEOs to get involved in supporting financially and otherwise the Global AIDS Pandemic activities. They were OK, but somewhat clueless about the importance of global AIDS. In retrospect, billionaire philanthropists would be a better audience. That evening went to a reception at Bill Heseltine's house for Geena Davis. She remembered our prior discussions during her visit to NIH. She is lovely - very tall, but lovely. Nov. 19, 2011 - Gave Keynote Address at the Caribbean AIDS Conference in The Bahamas. The Atlantis Hotel is surrealistic. Nov. 21 - 30, 2011 - Spent hours on the phone trying to address the ADAP waiting list since we (HHS/PEPFAR) felt that if the POTUS announces a scale-up of treatment for PEPFAR, then the logical question is what are we doing about the ADAP waiting list? Tom Frieden suggested that we engage the drug companies. Since I know Jim Rooney from Gilead, I made the initial contact which led to many phone calls involving Jim and people from Gilead; people from HHS - me, Tom Frieden, Mat Wakefield (HRSA), Sally Howard (chief-of-staff to Sebelius), Dora Hughes as well as people from NASTAD and Welvista. Important issues is the Gilead agreed to greatly lower their prices for people on ADAP waiting list Dec.1, 2011 - World AIDS Day (WAD). A very special day. The White House has decided that the venue for the POTUS statement on WAD would be George Washington University in a program sponsored by One and RED,