Today in history: The first-ever World Aids Day observed
The World AIDS Campaign, with the support of UNAIDS, facilitates the international theme for World AIDS Day.
The first-ever World AIDS Day was celebrated on 1 December 1988 and, until 1996, the day was organised by the World Health Organization.
Following a meeting of Health Ministers in London, a decision was taken that 1 December would be observed annually as World AIDS Day.
The decision was motivated by the growing realisation that, unlike other pandemics such as malaria, the spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was not confined to geographic locations.
The aim of World AIDS Day was to bring it to people’s attention in order to prevent the spread of HIV and improve the lives of people living with the virus.
The World AIDS Campaign, with the support of UNAIDS, facilitates the international theme for World AIDS Day.
In 2011 the chosen theme was “Getting to Zero – Zero AIDS-Related Deaths, and on 21 November 2007, a new UN report stated that more than three-quarters of AIDS-related deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
South Africa was officially the country with the highest prevalence of HIV in the world.
Speaking on the same day of the release of the UN report, Health Director General Thami Mseleku said, “There were signs of a turnaround in the number of new HIV infections in South Africa”.
Information sourced from: South African History Online.
