World Hepatitis Day, 2013

Proclamation 9001 of July 25, 2013

World Hepatitis Day, 2013

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Each year, we mark World Hepatitis Day to bring
attention to a disease that afflicts one in twelve
people worldwide. Viral hepatitis is a major cause of
liver cancer and cirrhosis in the United States,
leading to approximately 18,000 American deaths every
year. Outcomes can significantly improve with
treatment, but because viral hepatitis can be present
without symptoms for decades, most infected Americans
do not know they have it. Today, we raise awareness
about preventing and treating viral hepatitis, and we
renew our commitment to combat this disease in all its
forms.

Public awareness is key to halting the spread of viral
hepatitis. All types of this disease pose serious
health threats, and both hepatitis B and C can become
chronic infections that lead to liver cancer and liver
disease. Vaccines for hepatitis A and B are crucial to
preventing new cases, and they are recommended for all
children, as well as adults at an elevated risk of
infection. There is no vaccine against hepatitis C, but
through early detection and treatment, it is possible
to reduce the risk of transmission, avert the worst
complications, and in many cases even cure the
infection.

Anyone can contract hepatitis, but in the United States
it disproportionately affects the African American,
Hispanic, and Asian American and Pacific Islander
communities, and people born between 1945 and 1965.
Injection drug users of all ages are also at increased
risk. My Administration is working to raise awareness
among communities hardest hit by viral hepatitis,
organizing campaigns to prevent new infections, and
promoting testing and treatment.

My Administration also continues to work with our
partners across the Federal Government, in States,
communities, and the public and nonprofit sectors to
implement programs like the Healthy People 2020
initiative and the Action Plan for the Prevention,
Care, and Treatment of Viral Hepatitis. This ambitious
plan aims to reduce the number of new hepatitis C cases
by 25 percent, eliminate mother-to-child transmission
of hepatitis B, and significantly increase the
proportion of people who know of their hepatitis B and
C infections. In addition, the Affordable Care Act
requires health insurance plans to cover, without co-
pays, hepatitis A and B vaccines as recommended for
children and adults at elevated risk for infection, as
well as hepatitis B screenings for pregnant women at
their first prenatal visit. After June 2014, new health
plans must cover screening, without co-pays, for
hepatitis C virus infection in persons at high risk for
infection. Plans must also cover one-time screening for
hepatitis C infection for adults born between 1945 and
1965.

Viral hepatitis is a silent epidemic, and we can only
defeat it if we break that silence. Now is the time to
learn the risk factors for hepatitis, talk to family,
friends, and neighbors who may be at risk, and to speak
with healthcare providers about strategies for staying
healthy. On World Hepatitis Day, let each of us lend
our support to those living with hepatitis and do our
part to bring this epidemic to an end.

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 July 28, 2013, as
World Hepatitis Day. I encourage citizens, Government
agencies, nonprofit organizations, and communities
across the Nation to join in activities that will
increase awareness about hepatitis and what we can do
to prevent it.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-fifth day of July, 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.