    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 117, 108th Congress, 1st Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Proclamation 7631 of November 27, 2002

    World AIDS Day, 2002

    By the President of the United States of America
    A Proclamation

    The HIV/AIDS pandemic has taken the lives of more than 20 million people
    and is projected to take millions more. On World AIDS Day, countries
    around the world are united to support the individuals, families, and
    communities affected by this disease, and to renew our commitment to
    preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, developing and delivering more
    effective treatments, and finding a cure.
    To support our struggle against HIV/AIDS, we must call upon the
    compassion, energy, and generosity of all people. Through their service
    and dedication, faith-based and volunteer organizations are providing
    local and global communities with strategies to confront the HIV/AIDS
    pandemic. By responding to the needs of their neighbors, these
    organizations and individual citizens offer invaluable support and hope
    to countless people. These organizations also help overcome dangerous
    barriers to HIV prevention, care, and treatment such as the stigma and
    discrimination that often attaches to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. By
    raising awareness and promoting acceptance of people living with HIV/
    AIDS, we help improve the lives of millions of people around the world
    and demonstrate the compassion of our Nation.
    My Administration remains strongly committed to supporting research that
    treats those living with HIV/AIDS, prevents the spread of this disease,
    and that can develop a cure. For this coming year, my Administration has
    requested $2.9 billion for research on vaccines and treatments to combat
    the disease. This is a significant increase over prior year funding for
    these efforts, and expresses my Administration's commitment to helping
    find a cure.
    To help stop the global spread of AIDS we must prevent mothers from
    passing the HIV virus to their children. My Administration has committed
    $500 million to the new International Mother and Child HIV Prevention
    Initiative, which will focus on countries in Africa and the Caribbean
    where the problem is the most severe. This Initiative seeks to treat 1
    million women annually and to reduce mother-to-child transmission of
    HIV/AIDS by 40 percent within 5 years. It also increases the
    availability of preventative care and drug treatment therapy, and seeks
    to improve critical healthcare delivery systems. The International
    Mother and Child Prevention Initiative will save thousands of lives, and
    assist our vital effort to overcome the global devastation of HIV/AIDS.
    The United States intends to provide more than $1.3 billion in 2003 to
    international efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, a 30 percent increase over the
    prior year's commitment. I was very pleased to help launch the Global
    Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria together with U.N.
    Secretary-General Annan and Nigerian President Obasanjo. My
    Administration has since then pledged $500 million to the Global Fund,
    and we are committed to further support the Fund as it continues to
    demonstrate its success.

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    On World AIDS Day, I urge world leaders and citizens to join the efforts
    to combat HIV/AIDS. By working together, we can provide hope and comfort
    to all those affected by this devastating disease.
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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, 2002, as World
    AIDS Day. I invite the Governors of the States and 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/AIDS. I encourage all Americans to
    participate in appropriate commemorative programs and ceremonies in
    houses of worship, workplaces, and other community centers to remember
    those who have lost their lives to this deadly disease and to comfort
    and support those living with and impacted by HIV/AIDS.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day
    of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the
    Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
    seventh.
    GEORGE W. BUSH