December 1 2024 Is World AIDS Day

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or AIDS is caused by the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and affects almost 2.5 million individuals in the country. But the good news is that the number of new cases seems to be decreasing in India. Most of the AIDS cases have been attributed to people living in a few Southern and North-Eastern states of India. The virus is normally transmitted by sharing syringes while taking drugs, from the mother to the child and via unprotected sexual practices. This means that an exchange of bodily fluids like blood, saliva, semen etc. are necessary for a person to get infected. This virus tends to stay dormant for many years in an affected person’s system and begins to systematically attack specific T cells of the immune system- rendering them easy targets for opportunistic infections like influenza, pneumonia etc.

Why Is World AIDS Day Celebrated On Dec 1 Every Year?

First celebrated in 1988, this health awareness day has come a long way till now, in 2024. A sharp increase in the number of cases was observed in the 1980s and 1990s in the US first. There was and is a lot of social stigma associated with this disease. World AIDS day is a global public health campaign begun by the WHO. The highest number of deaths were recorded in the early 2000s, but with great medical advancements, the number has significantly reduced. In 1987, 2 public information officers from the WHO based in Geneva first came up with the idea to celebrate it on 1 Dec, which was then approved. The tradition then began the following year on 1 Dec 1988 as it was felt that this date would mean maximum media coverage by all agencies involved, in the West, as it was right before the holidays. Till 1990, the themes focused exclusively on youngsters and children getting affected. This meant that the public understood it as a disease that would affect the family as a whole.

History And Annual Theme For This Day-

From the 1990s till 2003, the celebrations would take place under the aegis of UNAIDS, which was a joint UN programme on AIDS. From 2004, a separate organization was formed- World AIDS Campaign (WAC), with annual themes being chosen with great care by the Global Steering Committee of the WAC.

The theme for this year is ‘Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress’- to ensure that all people understand what the disease is and how the virus spreads. This will also teach millions to engage in safe sex, to help prevent infants from getting infected, to control drug use and demand for fresh syringes whenever blood needs to be drawn for any test in any medical facility.

Conclusion

The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was first formed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in India in 1992. It was formed to ensure that every individual affected by HIV/AIDS would face no discrimination and get access to medical care immediately. The NACO-based theme for this year is ‘Take The Rights Path’- where it emphasises that getting proper treatment is a necessary human right and no one can be denied this in any form. India aims to be AIDS free by 2030 and is actively working to achieve this public health goal in a tireless manner. So, let us all help with this campaign and help each other in the right way.