Child Health Day, 2010

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8578 of October 4, 2010

Child Health Day, 2010

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The health and well-being of a child is one of our most
challenging, yet important, responsibilities, and we
have an obligation to ensure that all our children can
live, learn, and play in safe and healthy environments.
On Child Health Day, we reaffirm the critical
importance of the quality health care, nutritious
foods, clean air and water, and safe communities our
kids need to grow into strong and active adults.

Parents and other caregivers set an example of healthy
living and lay the foundation for our children's
success. Whether providing nourishing meals, attending
regular check-ups, or encouraging outside activity,
they teach the habits and values for mental and
physical well-being that last a lifetime. However, the
charge to protect the health of our young people
extends beyond the home to our classrooms, playgrounds,
and hospitals around the country.

Today, our children face a new public health crisis we
must address as a Nation, and we all have a role to
play. In the last three decades, childhood obesity
rates have tripled, and this epidemic threatens many
young Americans, leaving them at risk for severe and
chronic health problems, including heart disease,
diabetes, and cancer. My Administration is committed to
solving the childhood obesity epidemic within a
generation, and earlier this year I created a Task
Force on Childhood Obesity to examine interagency
solutions and develop clear, concrete steps on how to
address this national health crisis. Along with the
Task Force, First Lady Michelle Obama's ``Let's Move!''
initiative empowers parents and caregivers to help
their kids maintain a healthy weight and make healthy
choices for their families. ``Let's Move!'' also
encourages young people to choose wholesome foods,
increase their physical activity, and develop life-long
healthy habits. Child care providers and schools also
have an important part in strengthening health and
physical education programs and providing nutritious
foods in cafeterias and vending areas.

In America, no parent should have to agonize over
finding or affording health care for their child. To
address this, the Affordable Care Act guarantees that
children are eligible for health coverage regardless of
any pre-existing condition. This landmark law extends
the Children's Health Insurance Program, and requires
basic dental and vision coverage for children under all
health plans offered in the new health insurance
exchanges beginning in 2014. It also expands our health
care workforce, including increasing the number of
primary care providers who treat children; forbids
insurance companies from dropping coverage if a child
or family member gets sick; and helps ensure access to
free preventive services. As we mark these successes
and the beginning of a new chapter in American health
care this year, we also celebrate the 75th anniversary
of the Social Security Act--including title V of this
milestone legislation, which supports maternal and
child health programs and services across the country.

Parents also should not have to worry about whether the
conditions in which their children grow and play are
unsafe or unclean. Prenatal and early-life exposures to
allergens and environmental contaminants may

have detrimental lifelong effects. We must take action
for our children's and grandchildren's sake, and we
must work together to reduce risks from environmental
exposure at home, school, and play areas. Through
coordinated efforts like that of the President's Task
Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to
Children, my Administration will continue to empower
Federal interagency collaboration to help ensure
healthy homes and communities exist for our children.

Children are our most precious resource. They are our
joy in the present, and our hope for the future. As
loved ones and educators, mentors and friends, we must
do everything in our power to protect the health and
well-being of our Nation's children and the promise of
their futures.

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 Monday, October 4,
2010, as Child Health Day. I call upon families, child
health professionals, faith-based and community
organizations, and all levels of government to help
ensure that America's children stay safe and healthy.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord two
thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.