Every year, on December 1, the world commemorates World AIDS Day. People worldwide unite to show support for people living with and affected by HIV and to remember those who lost their lives to AIDS.
Why do we mark International Days? International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and celebrate and reinforce humanity's achievements. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said that "Health is a human right. Health must be a top investment priority to achieve universal health coverage. On this World AIDS Day, let us recognize that to overcome COVID-19 and end AIDS, the world must stand in solidarity and share responsibility."
Shocking Facts and Figures about AIDS.
- 38 million people globally were living with HIV.
- 25.4 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy.
- 1.7 million people became newly infected with HIV.
- 690,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in the past year.
COVID-19 has demonstrated that, during a pandemic, no one is safe until everyone is safe. Leaving people behind is not an option if we are to succeed. Eliminating stigma and discrimination, putting people at the centre, and grounding our responses in human rights and gender-responsive approaches are key to ending the colliding pandemics of HIV and COVID-19.
In a new report, Prevailing against pandemics by putting people at the centre, UNAIDS calls on countries to make far greater investments in global pandemic responses and adopt a new set of bold, ambitious, but achievable HIV targets. If those targets are met, the world will be back on track to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Participate in this year's World AIDS Day by shining a light on inequalities and doing your part in helping to address them. Use the following materials on your digital platforms to show the world that inequalities cost lives and it is time to end them. Check and share the campaign and social media materials created by UNAIDS for the #WorldAIDSDay.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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