World AIDS Day is marked on December 1 every year. This is an opportunity for people all around the globe to unite in the fight against HIV. To stand in solidarity with those who are infected, and to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives to AIDS-related illnesses.
The global HIV response is in danger even though HIV remains a severe public health issue that affects millions of people worldwide. The current halt in HIV objective progress and resource exhaustion put many lives at risk. Due to a multitude of issues, including division, injustice, and disregard for human rights, HIV became and is a worldwide health epidemic.
World AIDS Day 2022: Theme
“Equalize” is a theme that encourages action. It is a call to action for all of us to follow the tried-and-true strategies needed to eliminate inequalities and support the fight against AIDS.
These include:
- Increase the accessibility, acceptability, and quality of services for HIV prevention, treatment, and testing in order to guarantee that everyone is well-cared for.
- Reforming laws, policies, and practices can help address the discrimination and exclusion experienced by HIV-positive individuals as well as by significant and disadvantaged populations. By doing this, everyone treated with respect and acceptance.
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- To provide equitable access to the most cutting-edge HIV science, and ensure technological interchange across regions as well as between the Global South and the North.
- Communities will be free to utilize and modify the “Equalize” message to draw attention to the specific inequities they confront and to push for the remedial measures required.
Importance
In the entire world, 38 million people are HIV positive. Despite the virus identified only in 1984, it is one of the worst pandemics in history, killing close to 35 million people.
Science has made strides in HIV therapy today, and laws safeguarding those living with HIV are in place. Since the general population is ignorant of the reality of how to protect oneself and others, many persons who live with the condition still endure shame and prejudice.
World AIDS Day is important because it serves as a reminder to the populace and the government that HIV is still a major issue that needs immediate financing, more awareness, the eradication of discrimination, and better educational opportunities.
History
On December 1st, 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) established World AIDS Day to encourage information exchange among local and federal government agencies, international organizations, and private persons. When the first World AIDS Day was commemorated in 1988, it was thought that between 90,000 and 150,000 people had HIV, which causes AIDS.
Within 20 years, over 33 million people have acquired HIV, and over 25 million people had died from AIDS since 1981, when the disease was first recognized. As a result, AIDS awareness campaigns began to put more of an emphasis on supporting and unifying international organizations that aim to inform society about HIV/AIDS. World AIDS Day will take place on December 1st, 2022.
World AIDS Day organized by WHO until 1996, who also came up with the annual themes and activities. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) then took up these responsibilities. The World AIDS Campaign (WAC) founded by UNAIDS in 1997 with the goal of increasing AIDS awareness and integrating AIDS knowledge on a global basis.
The WAC began functioning independently in 2005 and has offices in Cape Town, South Africa, and Amsterdam, Namibia. The WAC ensures the assistance of authorities and AIDS organizations while also producing material that is distributed during World AIDS Day.