A crowd of about 50 people attended the dedication ceremony for the AIDS Memorial of Snohomish County in December 2005 (Michael O’Leary / Herald file)
Organizations, communities, and individuals around the world observe World AIDS Day with events and activities on and around December 1.
In honor of 2022 World AIDS Day, APSC board members will join our friends at Lifelong at the Snohomish County AIDS Memorial to commemorate this special day, to honor all we have lost from AIDS and the millions who are living with HIV and AIDS around the world, and to raise awareness of this issue.
2022 EVENT CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER. Stay safe, y’all!
APSC + Lifelong World AIDS Day celebration on Dec. 1, 2021
In a difficult couple of years dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, we see yet again how deadly diseases including HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 reveal persistent inequities across the United States and around the world. And yet again we know that we cannot win the fight against either disease without addressing gaps in access to health care and lifesaving treatment, as well as the often deadly impacts of stigma and systemic injustice.
In the U.S., Black and Latino communities bear the brunt of both HIV and COVID-19. In 2018 Black Americans accounted for 13% of the U.S. population, but 42% of new HIV diagnoses, and Latinos accounted for about one in four new HIV diagnoses. Looking at Black communities in the U.S., an amfAR study revealed how disproportionately Black counties in the U.S. are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Year’s World AIDS Day Theme
[From hiv.gov]
The U.S. Government (USG) theme for World AIDS Day 2022— Putting Ourselves to the Test: Achieving Equity to End HIV— emphasizes accountability and action, affirming the Biden-Harris Administration’s dedication to ending HIV, both in the United States and around the globe, through an approach that centers on communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic. This year, we observe World AIDS Day in the context of two other infectious disease threats—COVID-19 and monkeypox—which have heavily impacted many of those same communities. These epidemics have further highlighted that our public health response to HIV will require us to address health disparities holistically.
The theme also highlights the importance of HIV testing. “Everyone should get tested for HIV and know their status. We are advancing a status-neutral approach to HIV testing that puts equity at the forefront. Under this approach, no matter what the outcome of the test, people should be connected with the necessary HIV prevention and treatment services, including strategies to address social determinants of health and barriers to access,” said Kaye Hayes, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Infectious Disease and the Director of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy.