[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 232 (Friday, December 3, 2010)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75617-75618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30585]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 232 / Friday, December 3, 2010 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 75617]]


                Proclamation 8609 of November 30, 2010

                
World AIDS Day, 2010

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On this World AIDS Day, as we approach the thirtieth 
                year of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, we reflect on the many 
                Americans and others around the globe lost to this 
                devastating disease, and pledge our support to the 33 
                million people worldwide who live with HIV/AIDS. We 
                also recommit to building on the great strides made in 
                fighting HIV, to preventing the spread of the disease, 
                to continuing our efforts to combat stigma and 
                discrimination, and to finding a cure.

                Today, we are experiencing a domestic HIV epidemic that 
                demands our attention and leadership. My Administration 
                has invigorated our response to HIV by releasing the 
                first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the 
                United States. Its vision is an America in which new 
                HIV infections are rare, and when they do occur, all 
                persons--regardless of age, gender, race or ethnicity, 
                sexual orientation, gender identity, or socio-economic 
                circumstance--will have unfettered access to high-
                quality, life-extending care.

                Signifying a renewed level of commitment and urgency, 
                the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States 
                focuses on comprehensive, evidence-based approaches to 
                preventing HIV in high-risk communities. It strengthens 
                efforts to link and retain people living with HIV into 
                care, and lays out new steps to ensure that the United 
                States has the workforce necessary to serve Americans 
                living with HIV. The Strategy also provides a path for 
                reducing HIV-related health disparities by adopting 
                community-level approaches to preventing and treating 
                this disease, including addressing HIV-related 
                discrimination.

                Along with this landmark Strategy, we have also made 
                significant progress with the health reform law I 
                signed this year, the Affordable Care Act. For far too 
                long, Americans living with HIV and AIDS have endured 
                great difficulties in obtaining adequate health 
                insurance coverage and quality care. The Affordable 
                Care Act prohibits insurance companies from using HIV 
                status and other pre-existing conditions as a reason to 
                deny health care coverage to children as of this year, 
                and to all Americans beginning in 2014. To ensure that 
                individuals living with HIV/AIDS can access the care 
                they need, the Affordable Care Act ends lifetime limits 
                and phases out annual limits on coverage. Starting in 
                2014, it forbids insurance companies from charging 
                higher premiums because of HIV status, and introduces 
                tax credits that will make coverage more affordable for 
                all Americans. This landmark law also provides access 
                to insurance coverage through the Pre-Existing 
                Condition Insurance Plan for the uninsured with chronic 
                conditions.

                Our Government has a role to play in reducing stigma, 
                which is why my Administration eliminated the entry ban 
                that previously barred individuals living with HIV/AIDS 
                from entering the United States. As a result, the 2012 
                International AIDS Conference will be held in 
                Washington, D.C., the first time this important meeting 
                will be hosted by the United States in over two 
                decades. For more information about our commitment to 
                fighting this epidemic and the stigma surrounding it, I 
                encourage all Americans to visit: www.AIDS.gov.

[[Page 75618]]

                Tackling this disease requires a shared response that 
                builds on the successes achieved to date. Globally, 
                tens of millions of people have benefited from HIV 
                prevention, treatment, and care programs supported by 
                the American people. The President's Emergency Plan for 
                AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, 
                Tuberculosis and Malaria support anti-retroviral 
                treatments for millions around the world. My 
                Administration has also made significant investments 
                and increases in our efforts to fight the spread of 
                HIV/AIDS at home and abroad by implementing a 
                comprehensive package of proven prevention programs and 
                improving the health of those in developing countries. 
                Additionally, the Global Health Initiative integrates 
                treatment and care with other interventions to provide 
                a holistic approach to improving the health of people 
                living with HIV/AIDS. Along with our global partners, 
                we will continue to focus on saving lives through 
                effective prevention activities, as well as other smart 
                investments to maximize the impact of each dollar 
                spent.

                World AIDS Day serves as an important reminder that 
                HIV/AIDS has not gone away. More than one million 
                Americans currently live with HIV/AIDS in the United 
                States, and more than 56,000 become infected each year. 
                For too long, this epidemic has loomed over our Nation 
                and our world, taking a devastating toll on some of the 
                most vulnerable among us. On World AIDS Day, we mourn 
                those we have lost and look to the promise of a 
                brighter future and a world without HIV/AIDS.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States do hereby proclaim December 1, 2010, as 
                World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the States and 
                the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of the other 
                territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United 
                States, and the American people to join in appropriate 
                activities to remember the men, women, and children who 
                have lost their lives to AIDS and to provide support 
                and comfort to those living with this disease.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2010-30585
Filed 12-2-10; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3195-W1-P