Amid the ongoing political instability in Zimbabwe, most Zimbabweans continue to endure severe shortages of food and other basic necessities, a struggling economy and deteriorating public systems, including clinics and hospitals.

On Thursday, Nov. 20, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies will co-host a luncheon forum on the political developments in Zimbabwe; the humanitarian impact of the prolonged political stalemate, including its impact on the nation’s strained health-care system; and the implications for the U.S. and other major international donor nations.

The Forum will feature keynote remarks by Hopewell Rugoho Chin'ono, a Zimbabwean television journalist who this summer received the overall 2008 CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Award as well as the Kaiser Family Foundation Award for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Reporting in Africa. The session will include excerpts from his winning documentary, Pain In My Heart, which provides a graphic glimpse into the impact of the current situation on Zimbabwe’s HIV positive population. Jendayi Frazer, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, will also provide keynote remarks. In addition, the forum will feature a discussion moderated by Leonard Doyle, former foreign editor and current U.S. editor, The Independent of London; with an expert panel including Jennifer G. Cooke, Co-Director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Shannon Hader, Director, District of Columbia HIV/AIDS Administration, formerly Senior Scientific Advisor to PEPFAR and Director of CDC-Zimbabwe; Robert I. Rotberg, Director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Michael Sinclair, Kaiser Family Foundation Senior Vice President and Director of the Program for Health and Development in South Africa, will provide welcome and introductory remarks; and Stephen Morrison, Executive Director of HIV/AIDS Task Force/Global Health Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies, will provide closing remarks.

WHAT:
“Zimbabwe: Time to Hope?” Luncheon Forum

WHEN:
Thursday, November 20, 2008
noon to 2:30 p.m. ET
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WHERE:
Barbara Jordan Conference Center, Kaiser Family Foundation Offices
1330 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005 (one block west of Metro Center)

RSVP:
If you wish to attend, please RSVP to Tiffany Ford at (202) 347-5270. For further information, please contact Craig Palosky at (202) 347-5270.

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