[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 48 (Monday, December 2, 1996)]
[Pages 2439-2440]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6959--World AIDS Day, 1996

November 26, 1996

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    We dedicate World AIDS Day to the memory of those we have lost to 
HIV and AIDS and to our quest to help those who are living with this 
disease. The theme of this ninth observance of World AIDS Day, ``One 
World, One Hope,'' reminds us that AIDS is a global pandemic and that 
HIV recognizes no geographic boundaries. Today, an estimated 21.8 
million adults and children worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, and we 
anticipate that as many as 3 million more will become infected with HIV 
in this year alone.
    Of the almost 6 million men, women, and children around the world 
who have died of AIDS, more than 330,000 have been Americans. Each day, 
100 of our fellow citizens lose their lives to this disease, and nearly 
200 more are diagnosed with AIDS. The threat that HIV and AIDS pose to 
our Nation and the world has demanded a national response involving 
government, industry, communities, families, and individuals. We have 
put our best scientific minds to work on research, and our most talented 
public health professionals have strived to prevent the spread of

[[Page 2440]]

this epidemic. Parents, teachers, clergy, and other civic leaders have 
worked together to educate and protect young people and other groups who 
are so vulnerable to--and devastated by--the scourge of HIV and AIDS.
    At long last, this investment of our time, attention, and resources 
in science and public health has begun to pay dividends. The past 12 
months have offered us reasons for real hope and optimism after so many 
years of sadness and despair. New treatments, approved in record time, 
are showing remarkable results in arresting the development of HIV 
disease and are beginning to improve the health of those who are living 
with the virus. We have worked hard to provide access to these promising 
treatments for as many people as possible. We have tripled funding for 
AIDS drug assistance programs, and we have increased support for the 
Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act by 30 percent 
during the past 12 months. We have also preserved the Medicaid program, 
which provides care to more than half of Americans living with AIDS, 
including more than 90 percent of the children with AIDS.
    We are heartened by our success in reducing the risk of perinatal 
transmission of HIV from mother to child. For the first time since this 
epidemic began in 1981, we have seen an actual reduction in the number 
of infants born with HIV. It is within our grasp to virtually eradicate 
pediatric HIV disease by the end of this century. Our efforts to prevent 
other types of HIV transmission are also showing signs of progress. But 
we must remain vigilant to the continuing need for prevention, reducing 
the number of new infections year by year until the day when we can 
eliminate this disease.
    As we move forward in this battle, we do so with renewed hope for 
the future. Let us observe World AIDS Day by intensifying our search for 
an end to the epidemic, for a cure for those who are living with HIV and 
AIDS, and for a vaccine to protect all citizens of the world from this 
relentless killer. And let us reaffirm our commitment to protecting the 
rights of all those who are living with HIV.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, 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, 1996, as World AIDS Day, and I invite the Governors of the States, 
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 and AIDS and to 
reach out to those living with this disease.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth 
day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-
six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two 
hundred and twenty-first.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., November 29, 
1996]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on November 27, and it was published in the Federal Register 
on December 2.