[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 6, 2016)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 20213-20214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08082]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 81 , No. 66 / Wednesday, April 6, 2016 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 20213]]


                Proclamation 9416 of April 1, 2016

                
National Public Health Week, 2016

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Public Health Week, we join together to 
                enhance public health--the foundation of our security 
                and well-being--here at home and around the world. By 
                supporting health professionals and embracing our 
                obligations to promote public health and protect our 
                planet, we can uphold our shared responsibility to 
                preserve the promise of a happy and healthy life for 
                our children and grandchildren.

                Ensuring all Americans have access to quality, 
                affordable health insurance is imperative for 
                maintaining our public health, and I am proud that 6 
                years after I signed it, the Affordable Care Act has 
                extended the peace of mind that comes with health 
                coverage to 20 million Americans. First Lady Michelle 
                Obama's Let's Move! initiative is encouraging more 
                physical activity and nutritious food choices for our 
                Nation's youth, engaging parents and kids in the work 
                of building stronger, healthier communities. To spare 
                more American families heartbreak, I have proposed over 
                1 billion dollars in new funding to address 
                prescription opioid abuse and heroin use, a public 
                health issue that has taken a devastating toll on too 
                many. We are also striving to promote mental health as 
                an essential component of overall health, helping 
                ensure access to mental health care and services and 
                working to prevent suicide. And because public safety 
                is a critical component of addressing public health, I 
                announced new, commonsense steps this year to help 
                address our country's epidemic of gun violence and keep 
                our neighborhoods safe.

                Just as we must sustain a healthy world today, we must 
                do everything in our power to preserve it for those who 
                will inherit it. Climate change has a profound impact 
                on our public health, contributing to intensified smog, 
                an extended allergy season, the spread of diseases into 
                new regions, and greater and more acute incidence of 
                asthma. Last year, the White House hosted a Summit on 
                Climate Change and Health to expand awareness of the 
                real threat a changing climate poses to our health and 
                to focus on vulnerable groups who may face more serious 
                challenges adapting to climate change. No community is 
                immune to this reality, nor can any nation cordon 
                itself off from climate or the air we share. That is 
                why last year, along with nearly 200 countries from 
                around the world, the United States negotiated the 
                Paris Agreement--the most ambitious climate change 
                agreement in history that commits all participating 
                parties to putting forward climate targets of growing 
                stringency to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. 
                Adopting this agreement for an international framework 
                builds on domestic actions we have already taken to 
                invest in clean energy, reduce our carbon emissions, 
                and transition to a cleaner, healthier, and more 
                sustainable future.

                Like the threat of climate change, other public health 
                challenges--like infectious diseases--cannot be 
                addressed by any one nation alone. In an increasingly 
                interconnected world, we face new trials that demand 
                international attention. My Administration is working 
                with our international partners to combat antibiotic-
                resistant bacteria. We also launched the Global Health 
                Security Agenda, which aims to strengthen all 
                countries' public health systems and stop the spread of 
                disease outbreaks by ensuring nations from

[[Page 20214]]

                around the world have the capacity to prevent, detect, 
                and respond to biological threats to our health and 
                safety. Already, this cooperation is helping us 
                confront the spread of the Zika virus.

                America is built on the notion that we are our 
                brothers' and our sisters' keepers, and that we all 
                have certain obligations to one another. Never is that 
                idea truer than when ensuring the health of the world 
                our children will live in long after we are gone. This 
                week, let us treat every child as if they are our own 
                by accepting our responsibilities to leave them with a 
                healthier, cleaner planet than we have, and let us 
                continue reaching for a brighter, more secure future 
                for all the world's people.

                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 April 4 through April 
                10, 2016, as National Public Health Week. I call on all 
                citizens, government agencies, private businesses, non-
                profit organizations, and other groups to join in 
                activities and take action to improve the health of our 
                Nation.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                first day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand sixteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2016-08082
Filed 4-5-16; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F6-P