While most people associate December 1st with an excuse to finally put up holiday decorations, snuggle up close to the fire, and spend time with loved ones, it also marks an important international holiday that increasingly gets under represented: World AIDS Day.

World AIDS Day was founded in 1988, and each year a campaign slogan is chosen by the World AIDS Campaign, this year’s being, “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise, Leadership.” The slogan serves as a reminder for all governments across the world to meet goals they have set in HIV & AIDS funding public programs for research, care, and awareness, as well as for everyday people to also do what they can to prevent the spread of the disease, raise awareness, donate money, or volunteer in the fight against HIV & AIDS. Additionally, World AIDS Day is a yearly day of reverence to mark the passing of 25 million people that have died from AIDS since 1981. Today, there are 33 million people living with HIV, and 95% of those infected live in developing countries.

How far we have come

The red ribbon is the symbol synonymous with AIDS awareness, so familiar in fact that it has blended into our cultural understanding of the disease. When the disease broke in the early 1980s, spreading like wildfire in urban populations of gay men in New York City and San Francisco, the disease was first termed “gay cancer.” Since so little was known about the diseases, and it was afflicting an already stigmatized population, people generally feared even touching those infected with HIV. The Regan and Bush administrations did little to fund research and awareness of the disease, and major newspapers were silent on the topic for years, so it fell to the public sector to take action, raise funds, and get the word out about the disease. The grassroots organization Visual AIDS invented the red ribbon to mimic the yellow ribbon for soldiers overseas. Awareness and funding fell into the hands of celebrities, like activist Elizabeth Taylor, to amplify the original message of the red ribbon, in order to bring awareness and funds to the fight against HIV & AIDS.

How far we have to go

Today both private organizations, charities, and governments around the world are engaged in the fight against HIV & AIDS. To combat the spike of HIV & AIDS in developing countries, some $8 billion was spent in 2005, although close to $20 billion will be needed to maintain the fight by 2008. Differences of cultural understandings and controversies over distributing birth control for protection in developing countries, combined with inadequate funding, inhibit effective control over the pandemic. There is still no cure for AIDS, although there are antiretroviral treatments can prolong and improve the quality of life of HIV infected persons.

What to do

While wearing the red ribbon promotes solidarity, there are other things that can be done, in keeping with this year’s “Leadership” slogan for World AIDS Day. The international AIDS charity Avert features a How to Help page, to donate money and offer tips on what you can do. Also check out the World AIDS Day Campaign page on Taking the Lead. Also look for events or organizations in your area that help those living with HIV & AIDS in your area, or around the world, because there is usually something you can do in your own neighborhood that can make a difference. Most importantly, if you are sexually active, make sure to get tested.

–Matthew Krajewski