Monday, December 2, 2013

Monday and cold cloudy day is DC. Celebration of World AIDS Day (WAD) today since December 1 was a Sunday. Also, Bill Gates visited NIH to deliver Barnes Lecture and to be shown around NIH: Gates – Francis Collins, I, and Clif Barry showed Bill Gates around the BSL-3 containment facility in Building 33 where we do experiment on marmosets with drugresistant TB. Clif does drug screening. We suited up with all the contained gear (“space suits”) and had a good time showing Bill around. This was followed by a roundtable discussion with certain IC Directors (me, Varmus, Pettigrew, Guttmacher, Glass, Somerman and Collins. I know Bill well from multiple interactions over the years and I spoke with him about our ongoing collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) over the years. I did not remain for his lecture since I had to rush down to the White House for the WAD ceremony White House – Ceremony in the South Court Auditorium of the WH. Speeches by POTUS, Sec. Kerry, Sec. Sebelius, Valerie Jarrett, Cecilia Munoz (Domestic policy Council). Panel with Collins, Gates, Dybul, Chris Beyrer (Hopkins), Amanda Castel (GWU), Kali Lindsey (National Minority Council), and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Minister of Finance of Nigeria). POTUS had announced a reprogramming from within AIDS budget at NIH $100 million over 3 years for a “Cure Initiative”. I was asked and gave the final talk of the ceremony on the links between the care continuum and a cure. Very well received. I, of course, am somewhat cynical about a “cure initiative” with no new money. Global Fund Replenishment – Today and tomorrow are the 2 big days for countries to meet here in DC to pledge for the next 3 year cycle of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. I attended meeting at Willard Hotel where Sec Kerry gave a terrific speech.