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

 
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

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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.
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.
DONALD J. TRUMP