[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