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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 234 (Thursday, December 5, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 96515-96516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28714]



                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 96515]]

                Proclamation 10867 of November 29, 2024

                
World AIDS Day, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Our Nation has made enormous strides toward preventing, 
                diagnosing, and treating HIV--a terrible disease that 
                has stolen the precious lives of over 40 million people 
                since the epidemic began in 1981. Despite our progress, 
                over 39 million people worldwide continue to live with 
                it, including over 1 million people in the United 
                States. On World AIDS Day, we honor the memory of all 
                those we tragically lost to HIV around the world. We 
                stand in solidarity with all those who are courageously 
                facing the disease today. And we renew our commitment 
                to accelerating efforts to finally end the HIV/AIDS 
                epidemic.

                My Administration has made historic progress toward 
                addressing this fight. In my first year in office, I 
                reestablished the White House Office of National AIDS 
                Policy and launched a new National HIV/AIDS Strategy, 
                to put us on the path to end this epidemic by 2030. To 
                that end, the Health Resources and Services 
                Administration committed nearly $10 billion in funding 
                through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to ensure that 
                low-income individuals in America with HIV can receive 
                the medication and quality care they need. The 
                Department of Health and Human Services is also working 
                to guarantee that Americans have access to HIV 
                interventions like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and 
                self-tests to prevent HIV. And the Centers for Medicare 
                and Medicaid Services has ensured that PrEP 
                medications--including long-term injectable options--
                and critical support services like counseling and 
                screenings for HIV and hepatitis B are free for people 
                with Medicare. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease 
                Control and Prevention invested $10 million in a pilot 
                program that covers the cost of PrEP to five health 
                departments across the Nation--an important step toward 
                ensuring everyone has access to this vital medication. 
                Additionally, my Administration's investments in the 
                Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States 
                initiative, which reaches over 50 jurisdictions, has 
                helped decrease HIV incidence by 21 percent in the past 
                year in those areas.

                At the same time, my Administration is working to fight 
                the stigma surrounding HIV and to ensure that people 
                with HIV do not face bias or discrimination--which too 
                often stops people from getting life-saving care. I am 
                proud that last year my Administration ended the 
                shameful practice of banning gay and bisexual men from 
                donating blood. We also released updates to the 
                Rehabilitation Act that strengthen civil rights 
                protections in medical settings for people with HIV. 
                And I join advocates around the country in sharing the 
                message of U=U, which stands for undetectable equals 
                untransmittable, and makes clear that a person living 
                with HIV who is on treatment and maintains an 
                undetectable viral load has zero risk of transmitting 
                HIV. We are committed to ensuring people understand the 
                latest science about HIV transmission, testing, 
                prevention, and care. And we are calling on States and 
                community leaders to repeal or reform outdated HIV 
                criminalization laws, so people are not wrongfully 
                punished for exposing others to HIV without the intent 
                to cause harm.

                Globally, my Administration is working with 
                international partners to lead the global fight to end 
                HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, including

[[Page 96516]]

                through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
                (PEPFAR) and our investments in the Global Fund to 
                Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. PEPFAR has saved 
                more than 25 million lives in 55 countries by working 
                to prevent HIV infections and expand access to HIV 
                treatment and care services. In 2023, my Administration 
                worked with the Congress to reauthorize PEPFAR for the 
                fourth time ensuring that America continues to help 
                build a future where HIV infections are prevented and 
                every person has access to the treatment they need. 
                This year, we also celebrate the 10th anniversary of 
                the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-
                Free, Mentored, and Safe) partnership, which has worked 
                to lower HIV infections in adolescent girls and young 
                women around the world.

                This year, on World AIDS Day, the AIDS Quilt which was 
                first displayed on the National Mall in 1987, will be 
                publicly displayed at the White House for the first 
                time in our Nation's history. The Quilt is a memorial 
                for all those we have lost to AIDS and AIDS-related 
                illnesses.

                We also express our gratitude to the activists, 
                scientists, doctors, and caregivers who have worked 
                tirelessly to advance our Nation's progress in the 
                fight against this epidemic. And we recommit as a 
                Nation to shining a light on the struggle, strength, 
                and resilience of people affected by HIV. Together, let 
                this World AIDS Day be a moment of unity that rallies 
                the country to give all those affected the care, hope, 
                and support they deserve.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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, 
                2024, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the 
                United States and its Commonwealths and Territories, 
                the appropriate officials of all units of government, 
                and the American people to join the HIV community in 
                activities to remember those who have lost their lives 
                to AIDS and to provide support, dignity, and compassion 
                to people with HIV.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of 
                the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-28714
Filed 12-4-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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