[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 231 (Thursday, December 2, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 67691-67692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31466]
[[Page 67689]]
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Part IV
The President
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Proclamation 7256--World AIDS Day, 1999
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 231 / Thursday, December 2, 1999 /
Presidential Documents
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Title 3--
The President
[[Page 67691]]
Proclamation 7256 of November 29, 1999
World AIDS Day, 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 exists 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.
[[Page 67692]]
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, 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.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 99-31466
Filed 12-1-99; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
