World AIDS Day is observed December 1 every year to raise the awareness in the fight against HIV. The theme for World AIDS Day 2016 is Hands Up for #HIVPrevention. The United Nations' (UN) World AIDS Day, focuses on issues surrounding HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome).

On World Aids Day 2016 We Aim to Ending the AIDS epidemic

Hands up for HIV Prevention! this is the theme for World AIDS Day 2016.

Nearly 15 years ago, South Africa’s Constitutional Court faced a monumental decision: whether or not to provide HIV-positive pregnant women and their babies with treatment to protect the infants from contracting the virus from their mothers during birth. 
South African researchers and leaders are hard at work developing and delivering innovations that could turn the tide on HIV and also make significant gains against tuberculosis (TB), which is the most common illness South Africans with HIV develop.

The innovations we develop here at home will inevitably benefit people across the globe. Even now, while South Africa is the epicentre of both the HIV epidemic and the most exciting HIV research, other countries, including our neighbors, are benefiting from the same tools and strategies that have been core to our own progress.

Investing in innovation for HIV and TB will support South Africa beyond these epidemics as well. By building strong scientific and research capacity, we’ll have the opportunity to establish ourselves as a global leader in health and development.

Ultimately, the next generation of South Africans will be ready to develop and deliver solutions to the biggest scientific problems we don’t yet know about.

The next phase of the global response against HIV and TB is unfolding, and the world needs leadership committed to innovation for positive impact. We know South Africa is up for the challenge.

“Ever since AIDS, I believe our primary posture as a community has been indignation, and we just won’t be denied anymore,” Peter Staley, the AIDS and gay rights activist, said in an interview. “We really felt like we were being slowly slaughtered, and the country was just standing by and letting it happen. And once we realized if we came together and pushed back, we actually had real power and knew how to wield it, there was just no turning back.”

If the successful Global Plan was Act I, Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free is Act II. Launched over the summer, this effort builds on the successes of the past five years, while setting an ambitious new framework to end AIDS in children, adolescents and young women once and for all. This one-two punch, with continued support and funding, stands to change the trajectory of the epidemic in just a generation. We must build on the incredible progress we’ve made over the past several years and commit to achieving what would be one of the greatest public health achievements of our lifetime: ending AIDS in children, while supporting the ultimate goal of wiping out AIDS entirely.

Immunotherapy shows promise

The research is similar to the immunotherapy being done in the field of cancer. The technique uses proteins — antibodies — to attack cancer cells.

“When you think about oncology and cancer therapy with these immune-based therapies, what people are doing now in that field is to try to boost the immune system to eliminate the cancer cells. The problem of eliminating the HIV hideout is similar. You want to eliminate the cells that harbor the virus, and by making the immune system more active, in finding and eliminating those cells,” Tebas explained.

Researchers found that the antibodies suppressed the HIV virus for 21 days. The goal is to find a combination of antibodies that can suppress the virus for six months to a year. Then people infected with HIV will no longer have to take medicine every day for the rest of their lives.
A new trial using two antibodies should start in the next couple of months. 

World AIDS Day 2016 being observed in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has been observing World Aids Day to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS. Bangladeshi women and children from "Dhanmondi, Dhaka" a rehabilitation center for victims of sex trafficking, arranged to light candles on the eve of World AIDS Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 1, 2016. Its amazing to see so much fundraising going on for #WorldAIDSDay already across the country!

Many volunteers organize art or slogan competitions, allowing students to show their creativity and promote awareness of HIV/AIDS. The winners are often displayed after World AIDS Day to educate people year-round.

World AIDS Day is a day dedicated to commemorate those who have passed on and to raise awareness about AIDS and the global spread of the HIV virus.

In addition to events to raise awareness, Peace Corps volunteers work with their communities to educate people about HIV/AIDS including transmission, prevention methods and testing. Many volunteers work with groups to raise nutrition levels, generate income and provide support for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Know About World Aids Day

The first World AIDS Day was held in 1988 after health ministers from around the world met in London, England and agreed to such a day as a way of highlighting the enormity of the AIDS pandemic and nations’ responsibility to ensure universal treatment, care and support for people living with HIV and AIDS.  

What is the red ribbon?

The red ribbon, as an awareness ribbon colored red, is used as the symbol for the prevention of illegal drug use and drunk driving and also solidarity of people living with HIV/AIDS.

What are the red ribbons on the X factor about?

It is also noteworthy that ITV allow its talent to wear AIDS ribbons during the World AIDS Day and the lead up period, with X-Factor judges sporting the iconic red ribbon this year.

What is the meaning of the red ribbon?

The red ribbon is internationally recognized as a symbol of the struggle around HIV/AIDS. It is a symbol of solidarity and a commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS. Red Ribbon Week is an alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention awareness campaign observed annually in October in the United States usually held on the last full week of October.



The theme for World AIDS Day 2016 is Hands Up for #HIV Prevention.

Here is a brief report from ITV News on, World Aids Day 2016 

World AIDS Day, December 1, which also launches the start of Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week in Canada, is a time for reflection: on what we have achieved with regard to the national and global response to HIV, WAD Imageand what we still must achieve.
For nearly three decades every December 1, we’ve heard about the tragedy of AIDS. Activists the world over put a spotlight on the AIDS virus on this day. They encourage testing and distribute leaflets with information on HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, including how it spreads and how to keep from getting it. The United Nations Secretariat Building in New York is lighted with the red AIDS ribbon.

AIDS has killed 35 million people since the start of the pandemic. It’s left millions of orphans in its wake. Every year, 2 million people acquire the virus, and the U.N. estimates that more than 1 million people die from the virus annually.

Still, a lot has happened since the first World AIDS Day in 1988. Countries in which the topic was once taboo now offer testing and treatment. Mothers with HIV can have healthy babies and live to raise them. Drugs can keep the virus from spreading. More than 18 million people are on lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs that keep HIV in check. And now, scientists are talking about vaccines and a cure.

People around the world are gathering today to recognize World AIDS Day and help raise awareness about the disease. Hands Up for #HIVPrevention!