Every year, World AIDS Day is held on December 1st to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic and to mourn those who have died from the disease.
According to the most recent statistics, nearly 38 million people around the world are living with HIV. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is the virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The first cases of AIDS were reported in 1981. Since that time, 75 million people have become infected with HIV. Tens of millions of people have died of AIDS-related causes.
Much has been done, especially in the last few decades, to address the AIDS epidemic. While there is still no cure, significant progress has been made. The number of newly infected people has declined. The number of AIDS-related deaths has gone down. Additionally, the number of people receiving effective treatment has increased.
The first HIV treatment was introduced in 1987. Since then, numerous drugs have been developed to treat HIV. There are also drugs available that reduce the risk of contracting HIV through needles or sexual activity. Available treatment and early detection have helped to increase the life expectancy of those infected with HIV/AIDS. In 1996, the life-expectancy of a 20-year old with HIV was 39 years. Today, life expectancy is 78 years.
Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day. The day was conceived by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter. The two of them were public information officers for the Global Programme on AIDS. Dr. Jonathan Mann, director of the organization approved the concept. Bunn proposed the date of December 1st. He felt this date would receive maximum news coverage by the western news media. The date follows U.S. elections but precedes the Christmas holiday. The White House marks World AIDS day by displaying a 28-foot red ribbon on the building’s North Portico. The ribbon symbolizes the commitment of the United States to combat the world AIDS epidemic through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Without bold action against inequalities, the world risks missing the targets to end AIDS by 2030, as well as a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and a spiralling social and economic crisis.
Forty years since the first AIDS cases were reported, HIV still threatens the world. Today, the world is off track from delivering on the shared commitment to end AIDS by 2030 not because of a lack of knowledge or tools to beat AIDS, but because of structural inequalities that obstruct proven solutions to HIV prevention and treatment.
Economic, social, cultural and legal inequalities must be ended as a matter of urgency if we are to end AIDS by 2030.
Although there is a perception that a time of crisis is not the right time to prioritize tackling the underlying social injustices, it is clear that without doing so the crisis cannot be overcome.
Tackling inequalities is a long-standing global promise, the urgency of which has only increased. In 2015, all countries pledged to reduce inequalities within and between countries as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Global AIDS Strategy 2021–2026: End Inequalities, End AIDS and the Political Declaration on AIDS adopted at the 2021 United Nations High-Level Meeting on AIDS have ending inequalities at their core.
This year the theme of World AIDS Day is End inequalities. End AIDS and End Pandemics.
Source: www.un.org
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