[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9797 of September 28, 2018

Child Health Day, 2018

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On Child Health Day, we renew our commitment to ensuring the health and
well-being of our young people, who are the future of our great country.
All children deserve to grow up in loving homes with parents or
guardians who are dedicated to empowering them to live healthy, safe,
and successful lives.
My Administration is actively working to create environments in which
families can grow stronger and children can realize their full
potential. Earlier this year, I signed into law a 5-year authorization
of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program,
which helps at-risk families get off to a better and healthier start
with evidence-based home visiting programs. Home visiting programs help
prevent child abuse and neglect, support positive parenting, improve
maternal and child health, and promote child development and school
readiness. Additionally, through the Be Best initiative, led by First
Lady Melania Trump, we are helping to address some of the most prevalent
challenges facing children, including destructive online habits,
bullying, mental health, and alcohol and drug abuse. Further, we are
strengthening our public health and safety response to the opioid
crisis. One of the many tragic consequences of opioid addiction is
neonatal abstinence syndrome, which poses risks to the long-term health
of children.
Across our country, more than 15,000 children are diagnosed with
pediatric cancer each year. Survival rates for most childhood cancers
have improved in recent decades, but serious challenges remain. Children
who survive cancer frequently struggle with significant complications
later in life. For this reason, I signed into law the Childhood Cancer
Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act of 2018, which

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will provide more funding to research childhood cancers, explore
effective treatments, and help enhance the quality of long-term care for
children after active treatment and into remission.
Every child, both born and unborn, possesses inherent dignity. Today,
let us rededicate ourselves to our shared goal of building a better
future for each one of them. As parents and role models, we have a moral
responsibility to nurture and care for our most vulnerable population.
Together, we can ensure that our children are healthy, and grow up to be
happy and productive adults.
The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 18, 1928, as amended
(36 U.S.C. 105), has called for the designation of the first Monday in
October as Child Health Day and has requested that the President issue a
proclamation in observance of this day.
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
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 1,
2018, as Child Health Day. I call upon families, child health
professionals, faith-based and community organizations, and governments
to help ensure that America's children stay safe and healthy.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day
of September, 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.
DONALD J. TRUMP