[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 48 (Monday, December 6, 1999)]
[Pages 2456-2457]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7256--World AIDS Day, 1999

November 29, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    As this year draws to a close, the world looks with hope to a new 
century and a new millennium. But in that new century, we will still 
face a familiar and deadly enemy: HIV and AIDS. Already, more than 33 
million people around the world have been infected with HIV; by the year 
2005, that figure will likely soar to more than 100 million.
    The theme of World AIDS Day this year is ``AIDS--End the Silence. 
Listen, Learn, Live!'' This simple message challenges us all to become 
better informed about this global pandemic and to serve as strong and 
vocal advocates for HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and care. When we 
fail to tell our children the truth about how HIV is transmitted, we put 
them at risk for infection. When we are silent about the need for 
compassionate care for the ill and dying, we allow too many of those 
infected with AIDS to spend their final days unloved and alone.
    Throughout my Presidency, I have strived to break the silence 
surrounding HIV/AIDS, and my Administration has worked hard to eradicate 
this devastating global threat. We can take heart that many people with 
HIV/AIDS today are living longer and more fulfilling lives and that new 
drugs are showing promising results in halting the progression of the 
disease. However, AIDS has exposed the tremendous gulf that exits 
between those who share in the prosperity of our global economy and 
those who do not. Of the millions of people around the world coping with 
HIV and AIDS, most are living in poverty, without access to new 
treatments or even the basic care that could increase the quality and 
length of their lives.
    Nowhere is the impact of this disease more devastating than in 
Africa, where 13 million men, women, and children have already died of 
AIDS, and 11,000 more are becoming infected each day. In response to 
this health catastrophe, this year my Administration sought and attained 
the largest-ever U.S. budget commitment to the global fight against 
AIDS. This increase of $100 million will more than double our support 
for AIDS awareness and prevention, home and community-based care, care 
of children orphaned by AIDS, and development of the infrastructure 
necessary to support these efforts. I invite other G-8 nations to join 
us, and I urge other foreign governments, corporate leaders, 
nongovernmental organizations, faith communities, foundations, AIDS 
organizations, and citizens around the globe to make their own 
contributions to the crusade against HIV/AIDS.
    To fight HIV/AIDS on the home front, this year's budget includes a 
$73 million increase in funding for HIV prevention activities; an 
increase of $183 million in the Ryan White CARE Act, which helps provide 
primary care and support for those living with HIV/AIDS; an additional 
$80 million in funding to the Minority AIDS Initiative, which uses 
existing programs to reach African Americans, Latinos, and other racial 
and ethnic minorities disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS; and an 
estimated $300 million in additional funds for AIDS-related research at 
the National Institutes of Health. I have given high priority to the 
development of a vaccine for AIDS, and our scientists and researchers 
remain committed to developing a vaccine that works for all who need it.
    Until they achieve that goal, we must work together to break the 
silence and increase dialogue; to fight the stigmatization and protect 
the rights of those living with HIV and AIDS; and to help those infected 
find the care and treatment they need. As we usher in a new century, we 
must pledge to stay the course in our crusade until the world is finally 
freed from the shadow of this devastating epidemic.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America,

[[Page 2457]]

by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of 
the United States, do hereby proclaim December 1, 1999, as World AIDS 
Day. I invite 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 the American people to join me in reaffirming our 
commitment to defeating HIV and AIDS. I encourage every American to 
participate in appropriate commemorative programs and ceremonies in 
workplaces, houses of worship, and other community centers, to reach out 
to protect and educate our children, and to help and comfort all people 
who are living with HIV and AIDS.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 
day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-
nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two 
hundred and twenty-fourth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., December 1, 
1999]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
December 2.