World AIDS Day 1 December 2023 – Theme, History and Importance

World AIDS Day is a globally commemorated healthcare event observed every year on the 1st of December for the past 33 years (since 1988). On this day, various awareness campaigns and activities that promote the disease awareness are conducted by several organisations across the world, unite to show solidarity for people living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), reminisced those who have died from an AIDS-related disease, and rally against the spread of the virus. The activities mainly focused on raising awareness about the status of the pandemic and encouraging progress in HIV / AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) prevention, treatment, and care around the world.

Need of AIDS awareness day

The need for AIDS awareness day is essential as HIV infection is currently incurable, but one can control it with good quality education about the disease, especially in rural areas. It was once an unmanageable chronic health condition, but now, with advances in HIV prevention, diagnosis, manage, and care including for opportunistic infections, people with HIV can live long, and healthy lives. In India, in the year 2019, 58.96 thousand AIDS-related deaths and 69.22 thousand new HIV infections were reported. 

Globally, in the year 2021, 14.6 lakh people (13 lakh adults and 1.6 lakh children under the age of 15) acquired HIV (new cases), the disease is lethal, as 6.5 lakh HIV patients died in the same year (2021). Approximately 3.84 crore people (3.67 crore adults and 17 lakh children under the age of 15) have been reported as HIV infected (as of 2021), among whom 54% are women and girls, with the vast majority of those affected living in low- and middle-income nations.

Global facts of HIV as per UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS):

• In 2021, nearly 85% of patients knew their HIV status entirely, while the rest were completely unaware of the disease presence in them.
• At the end of 2021, 75% of people had access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 81% of pregnant people with HIV had access to ART to prevent transmitting HIV to their babies during pregnancy and childbirth.

Estimates place the HIV, with an estimated drop to 4.4 and 3.9 per 100,000 population in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths globally by 2025, respectively, followed by a 90% reduction in both by 2030. To achieve such a target, awareness campaigns focused on education, treatment, and prevention should be implemented on a larger scale globally.

Success of Red Ribbon

To combat HIV/AIDS in India, the government established the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). Since 2010, when NACP set its goal of reducing new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths by 80%, which was achieved, there has been a decline of 82% in AIDS-related mortality. However, only a 48% decrease in the annual number of new HIV infections have been reported. Globally, the existence of awareness campaigns since 1988 has been a major boon, as the number of new patients has declined by 32% since 2010, and AIDS-related deaths have decreased by 68% since 2004.

World AIDS Day 2023 theme

This year 2023, the World AIDS Day Theme is “LET COMMUNITIES LEAD!”. The theme emphasizes the influence of communities on the HIV response and global health.

Year by year theme of World AIDS Day -

• World AIDS Day 2022 Theme: Equalize
• World AIDS day 2021 Theme: End inequalities. End AIDS. End pandemics.
• World AIDS day 2020 Theme: Global solidarity, shared responsibility
• World AIDS day 2019 Theme: Communities make the difference
• World AIDS day 2018 Theme: Know Your Status
• World AIDS day 2017 Theme: My health, my right

History of World AIDS day

In 1988, two public information officials from the World Health Organization established World AIDS Day as an annual event to raise awareness about the global pandemic. Each year, organisations from the United Nations, the United States government, and society all around the world coordinate campaigns centered on a different theme of HIV/AIDS.

Prevention of HIV

There are many actions, one can take to prevent the transmission of HIV to others, as the famous quote says “Prevention is better than cure”.

• Safe intercourse
• Get tested and treated for STDs
• Single sexual partner
• Abstinence from unhygienic practice such as sharing needles
• Get tested for HIV
• Usage of HIV prevention medicines such as pre-and post-exposure prophylaxis

Department of General Medicine