World AIDS Day: Unite for Awareness, Progress, and a Future Without AIDS
Each year on the 1st of December World AIDS Day is observed to raise awareness about AIDS and to pay tribute to those who died from this disease.
Recently, 38 million people have been reported around the globe to be suffering from HIV. HIV is the reason that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. The first few cases of AIDS were noted in 1981. Since then, about 75 million people have come to be infected with HIV. Moreover, tens of millions of people have died because of reasons related to AIDS.
This fight against AIDS, especially in the last decades, has been very tough. Though a cure is yet to be found for this disease, the progress to reduce the effect and fight against the condition has gotten better over time. The number of deaths due to AIDS has also decreased. Furthermore, more people now are seen being put on effective HIV treatment. Take a look at our blog, to know more about World Aids Day, why World Aid Day is celebrated, and the history of World AIDS Day.
World Aids Day 2024
In 1987, the first HIV treatment was approved. Since then, many antiviral drugs have been developed to help treat HIV. There are also drugs now available to prevent the risk of HIV infection through needle use and sexual contact. With early detection and proper treatment, the life expectancy of people with HIV/AIDS has increased greatly. A patient diagnosed with HIV at age 20 in 1996 had an expected lifespan of around 39 years. Today that lifespan has increased to approximately 78 years.
What is HIV and AIDS?
To understand why World AIDS Day is important, first of all, there must be knowledge about HIV and AIDS. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, this virus destroys the white blood cells in the body and makes the immune system weak over time. If left untreated, this would imply that over time HIV turns into AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, in which the body becomes extremely susceptible to infections and diseases, to the point of sometimes threatening life.
It is mainly transmitted through contact with some body fluids, including blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. There is no perceived risk of casual contact, for example, hugging, food or drink sharing, shaking hands, or seeking medical care. As of today, there is no cure, but significant progress has been made in the treatment of the disease; a person infected with HIV can live a long, healthy life if treated properly.
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World Aids Day 2024 Theme
Collective action: sustain and accelerate HIV progress is the theme for this World Aids Day 2024. This theme shows the government’s commitment to both the international and national HIV efforts, especially in terms of widening those changes made over the last forty years. We will celebrate the 37th World AIDS Day in 2024. Each year, this ritual brings us back to remember our commitments and continue with efforts at preventing HIV infections and lifesaving treatment for everyone infected with HIV throughout the world.
History of World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, first held in 1988, was actually the world’s first global health day. The idea for World AIDS Day was developed by two public information officers at the Global Programme on AIDS, whose names were James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter. Bunn chose December 1st as the date for World’s Aid Day because he felt that would get maximum Western media attention. This would fall in the period of US Elections, mid-term, and Christmas Holidays.
Few Ways to Observe World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day events are held in almost every country. On this special day, many health centers and hospitals offer free HIV testing. Other activities include film screenings, guided tours of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, health fairs, candlelight vigils, and awareness seminars.
Some ways to participate include:
- Attend a community event.
- Wear a red ribbon to create awareness.
- Watch films about HIV, such as Philadelphia, The Lazarus Effect, and Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt.
- On this day make sure you get tested for HIV and ask your family members to do the same.
- Tell your children about HIV/AIDS and how they can avoid getting infected.
- Donate to HIV support and education organizations.
- If AIDS has directly or indirectly touched your life, join social media to share your story using #WorldAIDSDay.
Why World AIDS Day Matters
- Creating Awareness :- This is what the day is meant to do; raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. Awareness is the way to prevention, and the more that people know how to prevent it, the better they can protect themselves and others from acquiring the disease.
- Fighting Stigma :- On World AIDS Day, we encourage people to see HIV for what it really is, a virus anybody can get, and with modern miracles in medicine, they can live a long and healthy life.
- Testing and Prevention :- One of the aims of World AIDS Day is to get people tested for HIV. Testing is very important because early detection would be early treatment, and thus prevent the virus from advancing into AIDS status.
- Encouragement of Access to Treatment :- World AIDS Day encourages access to treatment with no cure on the horizon for HIV while there is a highly effective treatment that helps people to live a long and healthy life.
- Remembering lost lives :- It is also a day of remembrance of the lives lost in AIDS-related complications and to pay tribute to the memory of those who left the world too early. It calls for reflection on how far we have traveled and a renewed commitment to a future without AIDS.
