[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 230 (Friday, December 3, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 68869-68870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26458]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 230 / Friday, December 3, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 68869]]


                Proclamation 10317 of November 30, 2021

                
World AIDS Day, 2021

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For decades, World AIDS Day has been recognized as an 
                opportunity for people around the world to stand 
                together in the fight against HIV. This year on World 
                AIDS Day, we are focused on addressing health 
                inequities and inequalities and ensuring that the 
                voices of people with HIV are at the center of our work 
                to end the HIV epidemic globally.

                While we have made remarkable progress in the 40 years 
                since the first-known reported case of AIDS, this 
                disease remains a serious public health challenge--and 
                we join the international community to honor and 
                remember the more than 36 million people, including 
                700,000 Americans, who have tragically died from AIDS-
                related illness since the start of the epidemic. We 
                also renew our commitment to stand with the nearly 38 
                million people living with HIV around the world as we 
                pursue our shared goal of ending the HIV epidemic.

                The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the challenges our 
                heroic health care and frontline workers face, yet they 
                continue to deliver essential HIV prevention services 
                and provide vital care and treatment to people living 
                with HIV. The pandemic has also interrupted HIV 
                research and highlighted the work that still remains to 
                achieve equitable access to HIV prevention, care, and 
                treatment in every community--particularly for 
                communities of color, adolescent girls and young women, 
                and the LGBTQI+ community.

                My Administration remains steadfast in our efforts to 
                end the HIV epidemic, confront systems and policies 
                that perpetuate entrenched health inequities, and build 
                a healthier world for all people. Earlier this year, I 
                reinstated the White House Office of National AIDS 
                Policy to coordinate our efforts to reduce the number 
                of HIV infections across our Nation. This week, my 
                Administration is releasing an updated National HIV/
                AIDS Strategy to decrease health inequities in new 
                diagnoses and improve access to comprehensive, 
                evidence-based HIV-prevention tools. This updated 
                strategy will make equity a cornerstone of our response 
                and bring a whole-of-government approach to fighting 
                HIV.

                My budget request includes $670 million to support the 
                Department of Health and Human Services' Ending the HIV 
                Epidemic in the U.S. Initiative--to reduce HIV 
                diagnoses and AIDS-related deaths. My Administration 
                has also strengthened the Presidential Advisory Council 
                on HIV/AIDS by adding members from diverse backgrounds 
                who bring the knowledge and expertise needed to further 
                our Nation's HIV response.

                My Administration is committed to helping the world end 
                the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030. 
                Through the United States President's Emergency Plan 
                for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), we have saved more than 21 
                million lives, prevented millions of HIV infections, 
                and supported at least 20 countries around the world to 
                reach epidemic control of HIV or achieve their 
                ambitious HIV treatment targets. This remarkable 
                progress over the past 18 years has been made possible 
                through strong, bipartisan United States leadership and 
                American generosity. Now, together with partner 
                governments and communities, my Administration is 
                setting a bold vision for achieving sustained epidemic 
                control of HIV by supporting equitable health

[[Page 68870]]

                services and solutions, contributing to improved health 
                for all in PEPFAR-supported countries, and working with 
                the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and 
                Malaria; UNAIDS; and other regional and local partners 
                toward the goal of ending the HIV epidemic everywhere.

                Ending the HIV epidemic is within our reach, and we are 
                committed to finishing this work. On World AIDS Day, we 
                rededicate ourselves to building on the progress of the 
                last 4 decades; upholding and advancing human rights; 
                supporting research, science, and data-driven 
                solutions; expanding access to housing, education, and 
                economic empowerment; and fighting stigma and 
                discrimination. No one living with HIV should suffer 
                the undeserved guilt and prejudice that too many 
                continue to experience. We must innovate and explore 
                new ways to help address HIV/AIDS in communities here 
                at home and around the world.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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, 
                2021, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the 
                United States and its Territories, and the American 
                people to join the HIV community in activities to 
                remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS and to 
                provide support, dignity, 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 twenty-one, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                sixth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2021-26458
Filed 12-2-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P