“To paraphrase what Winston Churchill said when the British finally started winning a battle or two in World War Two, this is not the end. It’s not even the beginning of the end. It is only the end of the beginning. In other words, we ramped up. You’ve done a great job. But we have to transition now from what has essentially been a make-it-up-as-you-go-along emergency response to one that we can sustain,” he said.

While praising efforts that have gotten 5-million people worldwide on treatment, he warned millions more still need life-saving drugs.

“We cannot get to the end of this epidemic without both more money and real changes in the way we spend it. I think it is profoundly important that we think about both,” Clinton said.

Raised a lot of boats

Mr. Clinton also addressed the debate over spending more on global health programs, as opposed to more specific targets like treatment or maternal and child health. He says it’s not a coincidence that fewer women and children are dying annually at the same time PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria have increased spending for global health.

“The fight against AIDS has raised a lot of boats - to fight tuberculosis and malaria, to improve health systems, to challenge and motivate governments and NGOs alike, to deliver more and better health care. Fighting AIDS in the right way clearly improves maternal and child health,” he said.