What is World AIDS Day?
Every year on 1 December, the international community unites to observe World AIDS Day. This is a day to increase awareness and understanding of HIV, to galvanise the response to the epidemic and to remember those we have lost.
At the time of the launch of the first World AIDS Day in 1988, a person living with HIV had a very short life expectancy. But today, antiretroviral treatment means that people living with HIV can survive and thrive into old age.
This transformation is down to an unprecedented global response, thanks to grassroots activism, and the mobilisation of global resources and political commitment. You can explore the entire history of the HIV epidemic in our interactive timeline.
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