On Zero Discrimination Day this year, UNAIDS is fighting against the discrimination girls and women face by generating awareness and motivating activities to empower them.
On 1 March 2022, Zero Discrimination Day will be held under the theme “Zero Discrimination against Women and Girls.” The symbol for Zero Discrimination Day is the butterfly, extensively used among individuals to tell their experiences and pictures to eradicate prejudice and strive towards improvement.
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.
World AIDS Day is celebrated around the world on December 1st each year. It has become one of the most recognized international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have passed on, and celebrate victories, such as increased access to treatment and prevention services.
UNAIDS took the lead on campaigning for World AIDS Day from its creation until 2004. From 2004 onwards the World AIDS Campaign’s Global Steering Committee began selecting a theme for World AIDS Day in consultation with civil society, organisations and government agencies involved in the AIDS response.
Themes run for one or two years and are not just specific to World AIDS Day. Campaigning slogans such as ‘Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise’ have been used year-round to hold governments accountable for their HIV and AIDS related commitments.
2016 Theme: HANDS UP FOR #HIVPREVENTION
In the lead-up to World AIDS Day 2016, the hands up for #HIVprevention campaign will explore different aspects of HIV prevention and how they relate to specific groups of people, such as adolescent girls and young women, key populations and people living with HIV.
A new report by UNAIDS Get on the Fast-Track: the life-cycle approach to HIV shows that countries are getting on the Fast-Track, with an additional one million people accessing treatment in just six months (January to June 2016). By June 2016, around 18.2 million [16.1 million–19.0 million] people had access to the life-saving medicines, including 910 000 children, double the number five years earlier. If these efforts are sustained and increased, the world will be on track to achieve the target of 30 million people on treatment by 2020.
The report was launched on 21 November 2016 in Windhoek, Namibia, by the President of Namibia, Hage Geingob and the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé.
GLOBAL HIV STATISTICS
18.2 million [16.1 million–19.0 million] people were accessing antiretroviral therapy (June 2016)
36.7 million [34.0 million–39.8 million] people globally were living with HIV (end 2015)
2.1 million [1.8 million–2.4 million] people became newly infected with HIV (end 2015)
1.1 million [940 000–1.3 million] people died from AIDS-related illnesses (end 2015)
78 million [69.5 million–87.6 million] people have become infected with HIV since the start of the epidemic (end 2015)
35 million [29.6 million–40.8 million] people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic (end 2015)
People living with HIV
In 2015, there were 36.7 million [34.0 million–39.8 million] people living with HIV.
UNAIDS World AIDS Day event – Moving forward together: leaving no one behind
UNAIDS will host a special event on 30 November 2016 to commemorate World AIDS Day and the commitment to move forward together to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
