World AIDS Day, 2013

Proclamation 9064 of November 27, 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 on insurance coverage.

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 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 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 with this disease.

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.