Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior US officials visited an AIDS clinic in South Africa on Friday during a seven-nation tour to highlight development issues on the continent. Located 50 miles west of Johannesburg in Cullinan, the clinic receives support from the South African government as well as a $575,000 grant from the United States.

"Sometimes you may say - 'I am HIV-positive, it's the end of the world,'" said Simangele Ncube, a patient. "It's not - I can still look beautiful in front of you. What is killing our community is stigma. No one is going to stigmatize me."

Clinton welcomed the country's new approach to HIV/AIDS under President Jacob Zuma and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi. Under former President Thabo Mbeki and his health minister, the government was criticized for expressing doubts that HIV causes AIDS and that antiretroviral drugs are an effective treatment. "We have to make up for some lost time," said Clinton. "But we are looking forward."

President Obama's proposed budget asked for less than half the additional $1 billion annually for overseas AIDS efforts that he promised during last year's campaign. While still hoping for a boost to funding, "We have to use every dollar efficiently," said US Rep. Nita Lowery (D-N.Y.), who is traveling with the delegation.

"It's good that Clinton is coming here and getting in touch with the realities on the ground," said Paula Akugizibwe, the treatment literacy coordinator for the AIDS Rights Alliance for Southern Africa. "But the bottom line is that if you don't have money, you can't do treatment and you can't do prevention."