World AIDS Day Observed Around the Globe

by Michael A. Jones

Published December 01, 2008 @ 07:51AM PT

Twenty years ago - December 1, 1988 - the world marked its first ever World AIDS Day. By 1988, nearly 8 million people worldwide were infected by the disease. Twenty years later, there are roughly 33.2 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS. And how the disease has changed. In the early 1980s, the disease ravaged gay men in disproportionate numbers. But today, 95 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS are from the Global South. And though medications have greatly increased the chance of living with HIV/AIDS (as opposed to "suffering" from HIV/AIDS), the statistics are still dire. Around half of the people worldwide infected with HIV/AIDS contract the disease before they are 25 years old. By the time they are 35 years old, they will have died from the disease.

Today is a day for people to unite worldwide to remember those who have died from this disease, to increase awareness and fight prejudice and stigma associated with the disease, and to advocate for access to medications and health care for those living with HIV/AIDS.

Corporations from Starbucks to Barrick Gold, to individual countries around the globe are commemorating World AIDS Day 2008 today (for a list of events happening around the world to mark today as World AIDS Day, click here). Below the fold, we'll include a roundup of quotes and statements marking this important day. As you'll see, the world certainly has changed over the past twenty years in its approach to HIV/AIDS. But there's still significant stigma and unequal access to treatment despite two decades of December 1sts.

Or, in other words, the urgency of raising awareness about this disease has not eroded. Let's go to the roundup, and we'll start with this quote from Deborah Williams, chair of the Board of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS: "We need President-elect Obama’s ‘Yes We Can’ approach to be applied to AIDS. We have witnessed bold and inclusive campaigning. We need that same leadership to end exclusionary practices in the US and other countries, dedicate sustainable resources to scale up treatment and other services, and involve all stakeholders in developing and implementing a truly effective global effort."

Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "On this World AIDS Day, we are all reminded that we must do more - as individuals, as communities and as a nation - to stop HIV/AIDS. We must relieve the burden of HIV in African-American and Hispanic communities by reaching them with effective prevention programs. We must confront the complex issues that keep gay and bisexual men at risk. We must arm our youth with the knowledge, skills and confidence to prevent HIV throughout their lives. Above all, we must not give up until this fight is won."

President-Elect Barack Obama: "This World AIDS Day is a time to reflect on what this global crisis is costing us. It's a cost that's measured in generations lost, in cultures traumatized, and in societies that have grown more unstable as a result of this pandemic. And it's a cost that 33 million people worldwide bear each day as they struggle to live with this disease. And what makes all of this so heartbreaking is that it was - in each and every case - entirely preventable."

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice: "Creating a world free of HIV is one of the great moral callings of our time and one that requires a global response. On this World AIDS Day, I commend the people who are leading the fight in their nations and communities, and I especially call on the world community to rededicate efforts to prevent stigma and discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. The American people stand with the people of the world in the fight against HIV/AIDS."

Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: "The continuing scourge of the AIDS epidemic is a national disgrace. With a new administration and Congress about to take the reins of political power, we commit ourselves to the advocacy work to shift the government’s attention from the failure of ‘abstinence-only’ programs to developing HIV/AIDS prevention programs that actually work. In addition, life-giving services must be delivered to those in need. We call for the creation of a national strategy on AIDS because nothing less will suffice."

Pamela W. Barnes, President and CEO, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation: "We have the drugs to treat children already infected with HIV, allowing them to grow healthy and strong. But millions of children and families lack access to these life-saving services. Strong leadership has never been more essential. We’ve made tremendous progress, but too many children are still dying of this disease. We’ve laid the groundwork. Now it’s time to lead the way toward a generation free of HIV. It is possible."