1st December: World Aids Day- Unite for Equality, End the Epidemic

• Image Credit: google

• Dec 1, 2024 | Kabita Pathak

The theme for this year emphasizes the interconnectedness of equality and health outcomes…

Digital Desk: World  AIDS Day is celebrated every 1st December as it is regarded as a strong echoes of the global effort to stamp out the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This year’s theme, "Unite for Equality, End the Epidemic,” speaks out on inequalities that continue to contribute towards the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

 Starting in 1988, World AIDS Day has been used as activism to increase awareness, fight prejudice, and pay tribute to victims of AIDS. Inadequate utilization of ART, inadequate funding of HIV prevention ventures, and insufficient efforts meant to contain have resulted in over 39 million people living with HIV globally. It is for this reason that the World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 million people were infected with the virus in 2023, with many from disadvantaged backgrounds.

 The theme for 2024 targets the relationship between equality and health. Inadequate healthcare, gender discrimination, and low socioeconomic status also affect the likelihood of preventing or controlling the spread of the HIV virus. Addressing these disparities is essential for achieving the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets: the 95-95-95 targets that en­tail diagnosing 95% of people with HIV, linking 95% of those diagnosed to treatment, and suppressing the virus in 95% of those on treatment.

 In 2009, governments, non-governmental organizations, and emerging civil society organizations pursued the multispectral expansion and provision of HIV services at health systems and to the populace hitherto not reached. These include increasing the supply of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), enhancing access to ART, particularly in LMICs, and the use of a mass-up model with educational and advocacy aims to fight stigma and misperceptions.

 It may mark a remembrance of the pandemic, but World AIDS Day 2024 is a reminder to act. It encourages persons and groups to lobby for policies that will ensure are passed and the healthcare needs of persons living with HIV are met. Together for equality, we will have a strong foundation towards the realization of an AIDS-free generation.

 On this day we must acknowledge that the HIV/AIDS challenge still persists, but in unison we can and must create a world with respect for health as a human right.