World AIDS Day, 1996

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 6959 of November 26, 1996

World AIDS Day, 1996

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

We dedicate World AIDS Day to the memory of those we
have lost to HIV and AIDS and to our quest to help
those who are living with this disease. The theme of
this ninth observance of World AIDS Day, ``One World,
One Hope,'' reminds us that AIDS is a global pandemic
and that HIV recognizes no geographic boundaries.
Today, an estimated 21.8 million adults and children
worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, and we anticipate
that as many as 3 million more will become infected
with HIV in this year alone.

Of the almost 6 million men, women, and children around
the world who have died of AIDS, more than 330,000 have
been Americans. Each day, 100 of our fellow citizens
lose their lives to this disease, and nearly 200 more
are diagnosed with AIDS. The threat that HIV and AIDS
pose to our Nation and the world has demanded a
national response involving government, industry,
communities, families, and individuals. We have put our
best scientific minds to work on research, and our most
talented public health professionals have strived to
prevent the spread of this epidemic. Parents, teachers,
clergy, and other civic leaders have worked together to
educate and protect young people and other groups who
are so vulnerable to--and devastated by--the scourge of
HIV and AIDS.

At long last, this investment of our time, attention,
and resources in science and public health has begun to
pay dividends. The past 12 months have offered us
reasons for real hope and optimism after so many years
of sadness and despair. New treatments, approved in
record time, are showing remarkable results in
arresting the development of HIV disease and are
beginning to improve the health of those who are living
with the virus. We have worked hard to provide access
to these promising treatments for as many people as
possible. We have tripled funding for AIDS drug
assistance programs, and we have increased support for
the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency
Act by 30 percent during the past 12 months. We have
also preserved the Medicaid program, which provides
care to more than half of Americans living with AIDS,
including more than 90 percent of the children with
AIDS.

We are heartened by our success in reducing the risk of
perinatal transmission of HIV from mother to child. For
the first time since this epidemic began in 1981, we
have seen an actual reduction in the number of infants
born with HIV. It is within our grasp to virtually
eradicate pediatric HIV disease by the end of this
century. Our efforts to prevent other types of HIV
transmission are also showing signs of progress. But we
must remain vigilant to the continuing need for
prevention, reducing the number of new infections year
by year until the day when we can eliminate this
disease.

As we move forward in this battle, we do so with
renewed hope for the future. Let us observe World AIDS
Day by intensifying our search for an end to the
epidemic, for a cure for those who are living with HIV
and AIDS, and for a vaccine to protect all citizens of
the world from this relentless killer. And let us
reaffirm our commitment to protecting the rights of all
those who are living with HIV.

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, 1996, as World
AIDS Day, and I invite the Governors of the States, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of other
territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States, and the American people to join me in
reaffirming our commitment to combating HIV and AIDS
and to reach out to those living with this disease.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-sixth day of November, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.