[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 4, 2018)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 62685-62686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26543]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 233 / Tuesday, December 4, 2018 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 62685]]


                Proclamation 9829 of November 30, 2018

                
World AIDS Day, 2018

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For more than three decades, our Nation and the world 
                have confronted the challenges posed by the human 
                immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired 
                immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Today, thanks to 
                lifesaving medications, an HIV/AIDS diagnosis does not 
                have to be a death sentence. On World AIDS Day, we 
                remember the 35 million lives that have sadly been cut 
                short by this terrible disease, and we renew our pledge 
                to stand with those living with it until it is 
                eliminated from our communities.

                Medical advancements and procedures have transformed 
                HIV from a disease that meant nearly certain death into 
                a generally manageable, chronic condition. 
                Antiretroviral drugs and therapies help control the 
                virus so that people with HIV can experience healthy 
                and productive lives with reduced risk of transmitting 
                it to others. With these long-sought solutions now at 
                our disposal, we have the ability to help alleviate the 
                pain and needless suffering of our fellow Americans 
                living with HIV, their family and friends, and the 
                millions of others around the world living with this 
                disease.

                Our efforts to connect those affected by this disease 
                with high-quality healthcare are dramatically improving 
                many lives. The 2017 National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) 
                progress report indicates a significant increase of 
                Americans living with HIV. These people are now able to 
                suppress the virus with medication. But we cannot rest 
                on this progress. In recent years, opioids and other 
                injected drugs have caused HIV outbreaks in communities 
                rarely affected before the outbreak of the epidemic. We 
                must continue to work to eliminate the stigma that 
                surrounds HIV so that no one is afraid to learn their 
                HIV status, treat their condition if HIV infected, and 
                prevent infection if they are at risk.

                My Administration remains steadfastly focused on 
                achieving the NHAS goals for 2020. These goals are 
                within our reach, but achieving them will require 
                continued coordinated work with local and State 
                governments, faith-based and charitable organizations, 
                and many others. One such critical component of our 
                domestic public health response is the Ryan White HIV/
                AIDS Program. Working with cities, counties, States, 
                and local community-based programs, this program 
                provides a comprehensive system of HIV care, lifesaving 
                medications, and essential support services to more 
                than half a million low-income people in the United 
                States each year.

                We also remain committed to collaborating with both 
                national and international stakeholders through the 
                U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
                (PEPFAR). For 15 years, PEPFAR has devoted American 
                resources to critical HIV prevention, treatment, and 
                care to some of the world's most vulnerable 
                populations, helping to save more than 17 million 
                lives. PEPFAR has continued to support a rapid 
                acceleration of HIV prevention by using data to 
                increase program performance, mobilize domestic 
                resources, and support local partners for sustainable 
                implementation. Through this program, we are supporting 
                lifesaving HIV treatment for more than 14 million 
                people and have enabled more than 2 million babies of 
                HIV-infected mothers to be born HIV-free.

[[Page 62686]]

                With American leadership, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has 
                shifted from crisis toward control. Hope and life are 
                prospering where death and despair once prevailed. A 
                generation that could have been lost is instead 
                thriving and building a brighter future. For the first 
                time in modern history, we have the ability to 
                sustainably control an epidemic, despite the absence of 
                a vaccine or cure, and create a future of flourishing, 
                stable communities in the United States and around the 
                globe.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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, 2018, 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 American people to join me in appropriate 
                activities to remember those who have lost their lives 
                to AIDS and to provide support and compassion to those 
                living with HIV.

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

[FR Doc. 2018-26543
Filed 12-3-18; 2:00 pm]
Billing code 3295-F9-P