Hillary Clinton launches blueprint for eradication of Aids Hillary Clinton told the International Aids Conference in Washington DC in July: 'We will not back off and we will not back down'. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, is launching a blueprint for the eradication of Aids across the globe, which will aim to focus efforts on preventing the spread of the disease and reaching all those who need treatment. Clinton called for the blueprint in her keynote speech at the International Aids Conference in Washington DC in July, when she pledged that the Obama administration would do whatever it took to end the HIV epidemic. I'm here to make it absolutely clear that the US is committed and will remain committed to achieving an Aids-free generation. We will not back off and we will not back down. We will fight for the resources necessary to achieve this historic milestone," she told the 25,000-strong conference. The blueprint has been masterminded by the US global Aids co-ordinator, ambassador Eric Goosby, who will join her at the launch on Thursday, together with the executive director of UNAids, Michel Sidibé. It is expected to focus on four streams: saving lives, smart investments, shared responsibility, and driving results of science. Aids campaigners say the end is in sight, with new medical tools such as drugs that keep people alive to prevent transmission of the infection. In the summer Clinton announced new funding to identify the most effective interventions, to ensure funds were spent where they would do most good. She also spoke of the need to do more for women, who are the majority of those infected, and for marginalised groups such as drug users and sex workers, who are worst affected by the epidemic. The big question is whether the US administration is prepared to put up a substantial amount more in funding in order to finish the job. "We're expecting the US blueprint for an Aids-free generation to be a top-level strategic document that demonstrates US political commitment to maximising the scientific know-how and tools available in order to lead us to the tipping point that will bring about an end to Aids," said Anton Ofield-Kerr, head of policy at the International HIV/Aids Alliance. It's essential that barriers currently impeding the HIV response such as criminalisation of vulnerable groups at most risk of the epidemic are also taken into account and we would hope that the US and the UK jointly, as the largest donors to the global HIV response, would lead the way together on this issue and put in place a joined up approach that addresses structural, behavioural and biomedical interventions.