Below is a proclamation signed by the President regarding World AIDS Day, 2013.
WORLD AIDS DAY, 2013
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Each year on World AIDS Day, we come together as a global
community to fight a devastating pandemic. We remember the
friends and loved ones we have lost, stand with the estimated
35 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and renew our commitment
to preventing the spread of this virus at home and abroad. If
we channel our energy and compassion into science-based results,
an AIDS-free generation is within our reach.
My Administration released the first comprehensive National
HIV/AIDS Strategy in 2010. Since then, we have made significant
progress in strengthening scientific investments, expanding
effective HIV/AIDS education and prevention, and connecting
stakeholders in both the public and private sectors. At the
same time, advances in our scientific understanding have allowed
us to better fight this disease. We know now that by focusing
on early detection and treatment, we can both prevent long-term
complications and reduce transmission rates. To build on this
progress, I issued an Executive Order in July establishing the
HIV Care Continuum Initiative, which addresses the gaps in care
and prevention, especially among communities with the greatest
HIV burden. And this November, I signed the HIV Organ Policy
Equity Act, lifting the ban on research into the possibility of
organ transplants between people with HIV.
My Administration remains committed to reducing the stigma
and disparities that fuel this epidemic. Beginning in 2014, the
Affordable Care Act will require health insurance plans to cover
HIV testing without any additional out-of-pocket costs. It will
also prohibit discrimination based on HIV status and eliminate
annual benefit caps. Under this law, we have already expanded
Medicaid for working class Americans and banned lifetime limits
Our work to end HIV extends far beyond our borders.
This is a global fight, and America continues to lead. The
United States has provided HIV prevention, treatment, and care
to millions around the world, helping to dramatically reduce new
infections and AIDS-related deaths. This year we celebrate the
10th anniversary of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR), a powerful bipartisan effort to turn the tide
on this epidemic. Through PEPFAR, we are making strong global
progress and are on track to achieve the ambitious HIV treatment
and prevention targets I set on World AIDS Day in 2011. Because
country ownership and shared responsibility are vital to a
strong and sustained global response, we launched PEPFAR Country
Health Partnerships, an initiative that will empower our partner
countries as they progress toward an AIDS-free generation. In
the next few days, my Administration will host the Global Fund
to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s Replenishment
Conference to enlist new partners, leverage American funding,
and increase our collective impact against these diseases. With
continued United States leadership, strong partners, and shared
responsibility, we can realize this historic opportunity.
We will win this battle, but it is not over yet. In memory
of the loved ones we have lost and on behalf of our family
members, friends, and fellow citizens of the world battling
HIV/AIDS, we resolve to carry on the fight and end stigma and
discrimination toward people living with this disease. At this
pivotal moment, let us work together to bring this pandemic to
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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 December 1, 2013, 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 the American people to join me in
appropriate activities to remember those who have lost their
lives to AIDS and to provide support and comfort to those living
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
BARACK OBAMA
