Presidential Document2023-19345
National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, 2023
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 6, 2023
Signed
August 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 171 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 60877-60878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19345]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 6, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 60877]]
Proclamation 10615 of August 31, 2023
National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, 2023
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
During National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, we
recognize the perseverance and strength of the
community of people living with this disease and
recommit to developing more effective treatments.
Approximately 100,000 Americans have Sickle Cell
Disease (SCD)--a group of inherited red blood cell
disorders that can cause acute, chronic pain and
serious health complications, including infections,
strokes, organ damage, vision problems, and serious
fatigue. Living with SCD often means putting the goals
and plans of everyday life on hold to accommodate the
demands of the disease, enduring frequent unplanned
hospital stays and struggling to pay for costly
treatments not covered by insurance.
There is no widely available cure for SCD. While bone
marrow and stem cell transplants can work for some
people with SCD, low donor availability and treatment-
related complications put those options out of reach
for many living with the disease. Although SCD affects
people of all backgrounds, it disproportionately
affects Black and Hispanic Americans. Combined with the
documented disparities in treatment and care, people
living with SCD often lack access to specialized care,
treatment, and information about the disease, and they
face barriers to receiving pain management and
treatment support.
That is why my Administration is working tirelessly to
close these health disparities and help deliver the
care SCD patients and their families deserve. We are
working with State, territorial, and local governments,
nonprofits, and private sector partners to make that
happen. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's Sickle Cell Data Collection program is
gathering more comprehensive information on the
experiences of SCD patients, which will inform new
treatments and health care services. The Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services is developing a Cell and
Gene Therapy Access Model, which would help Medicaid
beneficiaries gain access to potentially life-changing,
high-cost specialty drugs for illnesses like sickle
cell disease. The Health Resources and Services
Administration is assisting with early identification
and treatment of SCD and helping community-based
organizations and clinics conduct testing, counseling,
and education. The Food and Drug Administration has
approved new drug therapies that help people with SCD
manage their pain, and the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) is funding clinical trials to test new
advancements in the alleviation of chronic pain for
those living with SCD. NIH is also researching possible
personalized treatment approaches for SCD-associated
pain. And through its ``Cure Sickle Cell Initiative,''
we are accelerating the development of effective and
accessible genetic therapies that will help cure SCD
once and for all.
This month, we acknowledge all those living with SCD
and the many health and medical professionals working
to find new treatments and a cure for this disease. May
we honor the progress we have made together and
strengthen our resolve in finding a cure for SCD.
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
[[Page 60878]]
and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim
September 2023 as National Sickle Cell Awareness Month.
I call upon the people of the United States to learn
more about Sickle Cell Disease and the progress we are
making to reduce the burden of this disease on our
fellow Americans.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2023-19345
Filed 9-5-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 6, 2023.
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