World AIDS Day, annual observance aimed at raising awareness of the global epidemic of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and the spread of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). World AIDS Day occurs on December 1 and was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988 to facilitate the exchange of information among national and local governments, international organizations, and individuals. When the first World AIDS Day was held in 1988, an estimated 90,000 to 150,000 people were infected with HIV, which causes AIDS. Within two decades more than 33 million people were living with HIV infection, and since 1981, when the first AIDS case was reported, some 25 million people died of the disease. As a result, AIDS awareness became increasingly concerned with educating societies about HIV/AIDS through the unification and monetary support of international organizations.
The red ribbon
The red ribbon is the universal symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV. Wearing a ribbon is a great way to raise awareness on and during the run up to World AIDS Day.
Symptoms of AIDS can include:
Rapid weight loss
Recurring fever or profuse night sweats
Extreme and unexplained tiredness
Prolonged swelling of the lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck
Diarrhea that lasts for more than a week
Sores of the mouth, anus, or genitals
Pneumonia
Red, brown, pink, or purplish blotches on or under the skin or inside the mouth, nose, or eyelids
Memory loss, depression, and other neurologic disorders
Risk factors
Behaviours and conditions that put individuals at greater risk of contracting HIV include:
having condomless anal or vaginal sex;
having another sexually transmitted infection (STI) such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhoea and bacterial vaginosis;
engaging in harmful use of alcohol and drugs in the context of sexual behaviour;
sharing contaminated needles, syringes and other injecting equipment and drug solutions when injecting drugs;
receiving unsafe injections, blood transfusions and tissue transplantation, and medical procedures that involve unsterile cutting or piercing; and
experiencing accidental needle stick injuries, including among health workers.
Prevention
Individuals can reduce the risk of HIV infection by limiting exposure to risk factors. Key approaches for HIV prevention, which are often used in combination, include:
male and female condom use;
prevention, testing and counselling for HIV and STIs;
voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC);
use of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for prevention (oral PrEP and long acting products), the dapivirine vaginal ring and injectable long-acting cabotegravir;
harm reduction for people who inject and use drugs; and
elimination of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV.
Treatment
HIV disease can be managed by treatment regimens composed of a combination of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. Current antiretroviral therapy (ART) does not cure HIV infection but suppresses viral replication and allows an individual’s immune system recovery to strengthen and regain the capacity to fight off opportunistic infections and some cancers.
Since 2016, WHO has recommended Treat All: that all people living with HIV be provided with lifelong ART, including children, adolescents, adults and pregnant and breastfeeding women, regardless of clinical status or CD4 cell count.