WORLD AIDS DAY - 1 December 2017

ABOUT WORLD AIDS DAY

WHAT IS WORLD AIDS DAY?

World AIDS Day takes place on the 1st December each year. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day.

WHY IS WORLD AIDS DAY IMPORTANT?

Over 100,000 people are living with HIV in the UK. Globally, there are an estimated 36.7 million people who have the virus. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

Today, scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. Despite this, each year in the UK around 6,000 people are diagnosed with HIV, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with the condition.

World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

WHAT SHOULD I DO ON WORLD AIDS DAY?

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 the day. You can order a red ribbon through our online shop, or pick one up in a MAC Cosmetics shop and selected branches of Morrisons.

You can also order a free pack of 100 ribbons to fundraise for the National AIDS Trust. World AIDS Day is a great opportunity to raise money for NAT, which will help to champion the rights of people living with HIV in the UK. Visit our fundraising page for ideas, or contact someone in the fundraising team for more information.

You can list your World AIDS Day event on our events page. Or, if you can’t host your own event, you can find out how to attend an event near you.

BUT WHAT ABOUT AFTER WORLD AIDS DAY?

World AIDS Day may be once a year, but you can still support people living with HIV all year round. Sign up to NAT’s mailing list to stay up-to-date with new developments in HIV, and learn how you can get involved as an activist or as a volunteer.

You can also support our work by donating to NAT. We rely on your support to continue championing the rights of people living with HIV.

(Hat tip National Aids Trust)

World AIDS Day - December 1

What is World AIDS Day?

World AIDS Day is held on the 1^st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988.

Why is World AIDS Day important?

Over 100,000 people are living with HIV in the UK. Globally there are an estimated 34 million people who have the virus. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.
Today, scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. Despite this, each year in the UK around 6,000 people are diagnosed with HIV, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with the condition.
World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

What should I do on World AIDS Day?

World AIDS Day is an opportunity to show support to and solidarity with the millions of people living with HIV. Wearing a red ribbon is one simple way to do this. Find out where you can get a red ribbon.
World AIDS Day is also a great opportunity to raise money for NAT (National AIDS Trust) and show your support for people living with HIV. If you feel inspired to hold an event, such as a bake sale, or simply sell red ribbons, visit our fundraising page. If you’d like to see events that others are holding please visit our events page.

But what about after World AIDS Day?

Although World AIDS Day is a great opportunity to talk about HIV, it is important to keep the momentum going all year round. Sign up to NAT's newsletter which will keep you up to date with all the new developments in HIV and the work of the National AIDS Trust, or visit our website, HIVaware, for more information.

Worlds Aids Day

Check out James post on World Aids Day

World Aids Day is an important time to stop and think, and an important moment to be open and honest, raise awareness and dispel the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

I will always remember the first time I wore a red ribbon on the 1st December. I was at secondary school, and I didn't think twice about proudly wearing it in support of people with HIV/AIDS. However it became a struggle to keep it on through the day as kids taunted me for wearing it, saying it meant I had AIDS.

I'd love to think this wouldn't happen today (this was well over a decade ago), but the fact is stigma and prejudice against people with HIV is still rife. That is why World Aids Day and the wearing of red ribbons are still so important, and why HIV/AIDS is still an important Trade Union issue. Like all discrimination, Trade Unions take a hard line. Unions and campaigners were successful in getting protection of people with HIV as part of disability discrimination legislation, but as with all such issues the law is only as good as how it is implemented on the ground. All Trade Unionists need to be continually vigilant against discrimination.

TUC World Aids Day Seminar

1 December 2009 9.30–12.30 followed by buffet lunch
Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1

“I want to live my rights in the workplace”

This seminar will highlight and celebrate the role of trade unions in defending the interests and rights of affected colleagues and their communities and explore ways of further enhancing their achievements.
The event will bring together key players involved in workplace action, policy making and campaigning and focus on best practice in the workplace and
the challenges lying ahead.

Programme
09:30 Registration, coffee and tea
10:00 Lord Bill Morris Chair’s opening remarks
Kay Carberry, TUC Assistant General Secretary, welcome address
Mike Foster MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
International Development*
Dr Syed Asif Altaf, HIV-AIDS Co-ordinator, International Transport Federation
Zuzanna Gorska Global Co-ordinator on HIV-AIDS, International Trade Union Confederation
Daniel Owasu Boatey HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator, Ghana TUC
11.00 Questions from the floor
11:30 Panel discussion: Andy Harvey Education and training consultant;
Eleanor Briggs Assistant Director, Policy and Campaigns, National AIDS Trust;
Nick Sigler Head of International Relations, Unison;
Simon Dubbins Head of International Relations, Unite
12:25 Chair’s closing remarks
12.30 Seminar ends, followed by hot buffet lunch

Please confirm your attendance to Tanya Warlock on 020 7467 1357 or
email: twarlockAT@tucDOTorgDOTuk If you have any particular access needs please
inform Tanya by 16 November. *to be confirmed

Hat-tip SERTUC

World Aids Day - Edinburgh CRO

UNISON has a good web page on what the trade unions are doing to mark this day. Check out the links with the TUC and the UNISON guide to “Working with HIV and AIDS”.

In the mid 1980’s I was a welfare rights volunteer at the Edinburgh “Citizen Rights Office” (CRO). Edinburgh at the time was one of the first British cities to have significant number numbers of heterosexual HIV and AIDS sufferers. The majority of them had been exposed to HIV by sharing needles while injecting heroin. This was just a few years after the time and the place where the film “Trainspotting” was supposed to have been set.

At the time the CRO was very proud to have won the right for people who had HIV to have extra social security benefits in order for them to be able to afford a better diet and kept their weight up. This had been argued successfully at DHSS appeals to have made it less likely that they would go on to develop AIDS. I don't know if this practice is still accepted?

Times have moved on and now the CRO in Edinburgh is closed and due to medical advances HIV/AIDS, although very serious, is not what we thought at the time to be almost an automatic death sentence.

Still, I often wonder how many of the young people (I was in my early 20's at the time and most of them were much younger than me) I saw while at the CRO are still alive?

Things are not by any means perfect in the UK with regards to medical provision for HIV/AIDS. But it would be good if in another 20 years (or rather sooner!) everyone in the world with HIV/AIDS had access to decent health care and life saving medication.

I suppose this is the real point about today.