First recognized in 1988, World AIDS Day falls on December 1 each year. World AIDS Day is dedicated to spreading awareness of the AIDS pandemic spread by the spread of HIV infection, and to mourning those who have died of the disease. An estimated 40 million people worldwide have died of AIDS since 1981, and an estimated 37 million are living with HIV, making it one of the most important global public health issues in recorded history. Despite recent improvements in treatment, the AIDS epidemic still claims an estimated two million lives each year, of which more than 250,000 are children.
When the AIDS epidemic broke, because I happened to be a science nerd and knew a lot about viruses and a lot about that virus at the time, I felt a moral obligation to go out and try to stem the fear and get out and explain to people what the disease was and how it worked.
– Morgan Fairchild
There is a disease that reached out into the world and changed the way we thought about everything, from how we got our blood transfusions to our sexual practices. It was met with a campaign of fear and superstition that harmed both those who had it, and the families and friends of those who surrounded them.
While HIV and AIDS are out in the world today, the horror stories that were told of how it works and how it was transmitted have largely been mitigated. World AIDS Day works to ensure that those who suffer from AIDS can live in a safer, more understanding world and help further research to eliminate it.
History of World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day was first held in 1988, just four years after the discovery of the virus and its official classification. Since that time 35 million people have died, putting it far ahead of many of the other most devastating diseases in the history of man. Since that day the work of men and women everywhere has led to a greater understanding of HIV/AIDS (you can’t get it by sharing a can of coke, or sharing a toilet seat, for instance), but that has only served to slow the tide. 6,000 people each year are diagnosed with HIV in the UK alone, and there are still people out there who don’t know all the facts about it.
How to celebrate World AIDS Day
Start off by educating yourself about AIDS on websites like Worldaidsday.org, and then start researching what you can do to help. Whether it’s a small donation to help fund education and research, or volunteering your time to help with their campaigns and causes, there’s little you can do that’s as worthwhile as helping to end the epidemic that is HIV/AIDS.
You can also wear a red ribbon on World AIDS Day to help spread awareness of the disease, and hand out red ribbons to your friends, co-workers, and family to help them spread the word as well. It’s important that everyone understand the dangers of HIV/AIDS, and just as important that they understand how it’s contracted. Not just as a way to avoid contracting it, but to reduce the fear that surrounds this horrible condition.
World AIDS Day timeline
- 2013
"A Functional Cure"
12 of 75 people treated in a French study were “functionally cured” of HIV, not experiencing a return of the virus even after stopping antiretroviral therapy
- 1987
First Antiretrival Drugs
AZT (zidovudine) is the first drug available to treat HIV.
- 1986
1M Americans Impacted
Accordingto reporting in “The New York Times”
- 1981
U.S. Recognition
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on AIDS for the first time
- 1920s
A Pandemic Surfaces
The HIV-1 strain of virus emerged to circulate in Kinshasa, closely related to a virus found in chimpanzees
How to Observe World AIDS Day
Wear a red ribbon
Wearing a red ribbon in your lapel is the most broadly recognized way of showing your support on World AIDS Day. Red symbolizes blood, and the pain caused by the disease, anger about global inaction to fight the epidemic, a warning to take the disease seriously, and a symbol of love, passion, and tolerance towards those affected by the disease. Check online to find a ribbon supplier that supports a charitable cause.
Donate to an AIDS charity
There are a host of national and international nonprofits devoted to fighting the disease and problems associated with its spread. Check online and consider whether you’d like to support an organization in the United States, where deaths have been declining since the mid 1990s but infection continues to affect thousands of people each year, or perhaps an organization focused on infection in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Adult HIV Prevalence has reached 1 in 20 people and 1.2 million people die of HIV/AIDS each year.
Attend a candlelight vigil
Most major cities in the US host candlelight vigils on World AIDS Day as a way of visually commemorating those lost to the disease and vowing to fight it in the future. Check online to find a vigil near you and head along to show your support. Don’t forget to share your experience on social media to ensure that the idea is brought to the front of mind for your friends, and to demonstrate your support.
Why World AIDS Day is Important
AIDS impacts everyone
In its early years, some criticized World AIDS Day for focusing on children and young people, but organizers aimed to alleviate some of the stigma surrounding the disease as primarily affecting gay men, boosting recognition of it as a family disease. HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age,globally,and of 1.8 million new HIV infections in 2016, 43 percent were among women.
Getting to zero
Since 2012, the multi-year theme for World AIDS Day has been achieving zero new HIV infections, zero deaths from AIDS-related illnesses, and zero discrimination. In 2016, new infections among young women aged 15 to 24 were 44% higher than they were among men in the same age group, which suggests the high profile AIDS-related deaths of male celebrities such as Freddie Mercury, Robert Mapplethorpe and Rock Hudson have continued to overshadow realities of new infection rates amongst women in the public imagination. World AIDS Day seeks to challenge those perceptions and protect everyone.
Equalizing access to treatment
Research shows that stigma associated with sex work and LGBT populations, internationally, is a growing factor in unequal access to effective treatment. International AIDS funding began to fall for the first time in 2015, but still, less than half of those suffering with HIV/AIDS have access to anti-retroviral treatment across the world. It’s never been more important to draw attention the inequalities in treatment, in order to stop its spread once and for all.
Also on Sun Dec 1, 2024...
Dec
01
Dec
01