World AIDS Day is being observed on Thursday to create awareness among masses about causes, symptoms and precautionary measures of fatal disease.
This year theme of the day is “Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV.”
Every year, on 1st December, the world commemorates World AIDS Day. People around the world unite to show support for people living with and affected by HIV and to remember those who lost their lives to AIDS.
The day raise awareness and to unite people worldwide in the fight against the global health issue of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The day provides an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.
The World AIDS Day theme for 2022 is “equalize”. According to UNAIDS, “The slogan is a call to action. It is a prompt for all of us to work for the proven practical actions needed to address inequalities and help end AIDS.
World AIDS Day is significant to fight the stigma around it and focus on providing care and support for those who are already living with the disease. Like with most major public health issues, the HIV pandemic has only been presented with further challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
World AIDS Day was first designated in August 1988 by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, to get some semblance of control over the pandemic that had claimed the lives of so many people. Both James W Bunn and Thomas Netter were public information officers for the AIDS Global Program of the World Health Organisation. In 1988, when the inaugural World AIDS Day was observed, it was estimated that between 90,000 and 150,000 persons were HIV-positive, which leads to AIDS. They conveyed the idea for the observation of this day to the Director of the AIDS Global Program, Dr Johnathan Mann, who approved it for December 1. Since the 1990s, research and medical practices have made significant improvement for the care of people living with HIV.
