[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 232 (Monday, December 2, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 63691-63692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30780]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 232 / Monday, December 2, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 63691]]

                Proclamation 6959 of November 26, 1996

                
World AIDS Day, 1996

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                We dedicate World AIDS Day to the memory of those we 
                have lost to HIV and AIDS and to our quest to help 
                those who are living with this disease. The theme of 
                this ninth observance of World AIDS Day, ``One World, 
                One Hope,'' reminds us that AIDS is a global pandemic 
                and that HIV recognizes no geographic boundaries. 
                Today, an estimated 21.8 million adults and children 
                worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, and we anticipate 
                that as many as 3 million more will become infected 
                with HIV in this year alone.

                Of the almost 6 million men, women, and children around 
                the world who have died of AIDS, more than 330,000 have 
                been Americans. Each day, 100 of our fellow citizens 
                lose their lives to this disease, and nearly 200 more 
                are diagnosed with AIDS. The threat that HIV and AIDS 
                pose to our Nation and the world has demanded a 
                national response involving government, industry, 
                communities, families, and individuals. We have put our 
                best scientific minds to work on research, and our most 
                talented public health professionals have strived to 
                prevent the spread of this epidemic. Parents, teachers, 
                clergy, and other civic leaders have worked together to 
                educate and protect young people and other groups who 
                are so vulnerable to--and devastated by--the scourge of 
                HIV and AIDS.

                At long last, this investment of our time, attention, 
                and resources in science and public health has begun to 
                pay dividends. The past 12 months have offered us 
                reasons for real hope and optimism after so many years 
                of sadness and despair. New treatments, approved in 
                record time, are showing remarkable results in 
                arresting the development of HIV disease and are 
                beginning to improve the health of those who are living 
                with the virus. We have worked hard to provide access 
                to these promising treatments for as many people as 
                possible. We have tripled funding for AIDS drug 
                assistance programs, and we have increased support for 
                the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency 
                Act by 30 percent during the past 12 months. We have 
                also preserved the Medicaid program, which provides 
                care to more than half of Americans living with AIDS, 
                including more than 90 percent of the children with 
                AIDS.

                We are heartened by our success in reducing the risk of 
                perinatal transmission of HIV from mother to child. For 
                the first time since this epidemic began in 1981, we 
                have seen an actual reduction in the number of infants 
                born with HIV. It is within our grasp to virtually 
                eradicate pediatric HIV disease by the end of this 
                century. Our efforts to prevent other types of HIV 
                transmission are also showing signs of progress. But we 
                must remain vigilant to the continuing need for 
                prevention, reducing the number of new infections year 
                by year until the day when we can eliminate this 
                disease.

                As we move forward in this battle, we do so with 
                renewed hope for the future. Let us observe World AIDS 
                Day by intensifying our search for an end to the 
                epidemic, for a cure for those who are living with HIV 
                and AIDS, and for a vaccine to protect all citizens of 
                the world from this relentless killer. And let us 
                reaffirm our commitment to protecting the rights of all 
                those who are living with HIV.

[[Page 63692]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim December 1, 1996, as World 
                AIDS Day, and I invite the Governors of the States, the 
                Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of other 
                territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
                States, and the American people to join me in 
                reaffirming our commitment to combating HIV and AIDS 
                and to reach out to those living with this disease.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-first.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 96-30780
Filed 11-29-96; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P