World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations, and individuals around the world observe the day, often with education on AIDS prevention and control.
History
World AIDS Day is one of the eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Malaria Day and World Hepatitis Day.
As of 2017, AIDS has killed between 28.9 million and 41.5 million people worldwide, and an estimated 36.7 million people are living with HIV, making it one of the most important global public health issues in recorded history. Thanks to recent improved access to antiretroviral treatment in many regions of the world, the death rate from AIDS epidemic has decreased since its peak in 2005 (1 million in 2016, compared to 1.9 million in 2005).
History
World AIDS Day was first conceived as a means to capitalize on a media gap that existed between the U.S. presidential elections of 1988 and Christmas. James Bunn, a broadcast journalist who had recently taken a post at the World Health Organization (WHO), was convinced that audiences could be drawn to the story after nearly a year of non-stop campaign coverage. He and his colleague, Thomas Netter, decided that December 1 was the ideal date and spent the next 16 months designing and implementing the inaugural event.
The first World AIDS Day focused on the theme of children and youth in order to bring greater awareness of the impact of AIDS on families, not just the groups commonly stigmatized by the media (including gay and bisexual men and injecting drug users).
From 1996, World AIDS Day operations were taken over by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which expanded the scope of the project to a year-round prevention and education campaign.
In 2004, the World AIDS Campaign was registered as an independent, non-profit organization based in Netherland.
In 2018, World AIDS Day marked its 30th anniversary with the theme “Know Your Status,” a push by the global community to diagnose 90 percent of the world’s HIV population by 2030.
World AIDS Day Themes by Year
- 1988 – Inaugural Event
- 1989 – Our World, Our Lives – Let’s Take Care of Each Other
- 1990 – Women and AIDS
- 1991 – Sharing the Challenge
- 1992 – Community Commitment
- 1993 – Time to Act
- 1994 – AIDS and the Family
- 1995 – Shared Rights, Shared Responsibilities
- 1996 – One World. One Hope.
- 1997 – Children Living in a World with AIDS
- 1998 – Forces of Change: World AIDS Campaign With Young People
- 1999 – Listen, Learn, Live! World AIDS Campaign with Children & Young People
- 2000 – AIDS: Men Make a Difference
- 2001 – Men Can Make a Difference: “I care. Do you?”
- 2002 – Live and Let Live: Stigma and Discrimination
- 2003 – Live and Let Live: Stigma and Discrimination
- 2004 – “Have you heard me today?” Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS.
- 2005 – Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.
- 2006 – Keep the Promise – Accountability
- 2007 – Keep the Promise – Leadership “Take the Lead
- 2008 – Keep the Promise – Leadership “Lead, Empower, Deliver
- 2009 – Keep the Promise – Universal Access and Human Right
- 2010 – Keep the Promise – Universal Access and Human Right
- 2011 – Getting to Zero: Zero New HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.
- 2012 – Getting to Zero: Zero New HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.
- 2013 – Getting to Zero: Zero New HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.
- 2014 – Getting to Zero: Zero New HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.
- 2015 – Getting to Zero: Zero New HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS-related deaths.
- 2016 – Access Equity Rights Now
- 2017 – Increasing Impact Through Transparency, Accountability, and Partnerships
- 2018 – Know Your Status
- 2019 — Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Community by Community