The Role of U.S. Foreign Aid in Global HIV/AIDS Prevention
Michael Gerson discussed the 10-year success of bi-partisan American programs aimed at fighting global HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty. He shared personal stories about his time in Africa and his unique role in creating and implementing President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and Malaria Initiative. He also shared how advocacy organizations, like the ONE Campaign, are helping to build the political will among American voters and policy makers to sustain and promote these life-saving programs.
Gerson joined ONE in August 2010 as a Senior Advisor. He is a nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, the author of Heroic Conservatism (HarperOne, 2007), and co-author of City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era (Moody, 2010).
He serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience, the Board of Directors of Bread for the World, the Initiative for Global Development Leadership Council, and the boards of the U.S. Center for Global Leadership and The News Literacy Project. He is co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Values, and appears regularly on the PBS NewsHour, Face the Nation and other programs.
Until 2006, Gerson served President George W. Bush as Assistant to the President for Policy and Strategic Planning. He was a key administration advocate for in the fight against global sex trafficking, and funding for women’s justice and empowerment issues. Prior to that, he served in the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President, Director of Presidential Speechwriting, Assistant to the President for Speechwriting, and Policy Advisor. He was also a Senior Editor covering politics at U.S. News and World Report.
Gerson is a graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois.
This event is co-sponsored by the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine and the Office of Cultural Affairs & Diversity Initiatives; Center for Human Rights; Chief Diversity Office; College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics and Department of Preventive & Community Dentistry; College of Public Health; Department of Political Science; Global Health Club; Global Health Studies Program; International Programs; Iowa United Nations Association; KRUI; Obermann Center for Advanced Studies; Office of the President; ONE at University of Iowa; Pentacrest Museums; Public Policy Center; and School of Journalism & Mass Communication.