Three Ways to Observe World Aids Day (Dec. 1)

World AIDS Day in NYC (Photo; Elaine VanCleave)

World AIDS Day, one of the eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), was launched on Dec. 1, 1988, to bring attention to the global AIDS pandemic.

UNAIDS, the organization in charge of promoting the global campaign, selects a specific theme each year to bring attention to the problem, which affected 36.7 million people in 2016. The theme of the campaign this year is  My Health, My Right,

"The campaign reminds people that the right to health is much more than access to quality health services and medicines, that it also depends on a range of important assurances including, adequate sanitation and housing, healthy working conditions, a clean environment and access to justice," said UNAIDS.

There are three ways for folks in the Albuquerque area to participate in the campaign:

Wear a Ribbon
World AIDS Day is an opportunity to show solidarity with the millions of people living with HIV worldwide. Most people do this by wearing an HIV awareness red ribbon on December 1. Wearing a red ribbon is a simple and powerful way to challenge the stigma and prejudice surrounding AIDS .

Advocate
The ONE Campaign urges us to contact our U.S. Senators to preserve funding in the U.S. budget for AIDS research and prevention.

"In the last decade, the world has made remarkable progress in the fight against AIDS -- due in no small part to the United States’ compassion and leadership in the global response. We are finally getting ahead of this deadly disease thanks to U.S. bipartisan-led initiatives like PEPFAR. But this progress may soon start to unravel," said ONE, "To put it simply: if the U.S. cuts back its HIV/AIDS efforts, the AIDS crisis will get a lot worse. We can’t let that happen, not when we’re finally getting ahead of the disease.

Contact Sen. Tom Udall and Sen. Martin Heinrich (or your own U.S. Senators if you are from another state) asking them to take time on the floor to speak in support of funding AIDS-fighting programs like PEPFAR and the Global Fund, Click on this link or dial 1-888-521-4930 to be connected:  

Attend a Vigil 
On Thursday, November 30, the eve of World AIDS Day, the University of New Mexico Truman Health Services center is hosting a candlelight vigil at 7:00 p.m. in the gazebo in the Old Town plaza, 206 San Felipe St NW.

"Help us remember friends and family lost to AIDS, honor those living with HIV, and educate the Albuquerque community about the importance of safer sexual practices," UNM Truman Health Services said in its Facebook event. "Remember one voice can make a difference, many voices can change the world. Help us STOP HIV, and change the world."