Our trip to southern Africa ended on the same note with the same words it began ten days before: Africa is ready, we are ready; Africa can do it, we can do it; and Africa can do it just like everyone else, and we can do it well. In each country our delegation was shown and it was demonstrated that Africa and Africans could build (and in some cases have built and are currently operating) an effective, multi-pronged response to the African AIDS epidemic. The visit to South Africa illustrated the importance of the role of and played by the corporate sector in forming partnerships to effectively address the epidemic. The experience in Botswana showed the value of leadership from the government in overseeing top-down coordination of programs. In Uganda, our delegation observed a successfully implemented program to distribute antiretroviral medications to people in very rural, if not remote settings, which demonstrated that such programs can work effectively, be monitored and evaluated. Among the common themes that emerged from our trip: the importance of public-private partnerships; the need for national government leadership and resources which support local decision-making and control of community-based programs; the importance of collaboration with multilateral efforts such as the Global Fund; and the need for multi-faceted approaches that involve government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and people living with HIV.