World AIDS Day is observed on 1 December every year. It aims to increase awareness of the disease, fight the stigma associated with it, improve HIV education, and mobilize resources for the global response to the epidemic.
Millions of people are vulnerable to HIV infection, and AIDS remains a leading cause of death among women of reproductive age and young adolescents. Stigma and discrimination continue to impede the realization of people’s rights, including access to essential information and services to prevent and treat HIV.
"Last year, the world committed to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. We can reach this goal by getting serious about prevention.
We have a range of effective interventions to avert HIV transmission, yet still every day almost 6,000 people are newly infected. Getting serious about prevention means not only scaling up access to services, it means reducing risk among vulnerable populations," said Laura Londén, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director, at a World AIDS Day event at UN Headquarters in New York. "A girl who is protected from child marriage, has access to comprehensive sexuality education and is empowered to finish her education and have access to employment is at less risk of HIV infection."
UNFPA promotes integrating HIV responses with sexual and reproductive health care, part of an overarching strategy for achieving universal access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services, including condoms. UNFPA is also a cosponsor of UNAIDS.
Laura Londén, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director, explains the importance of sexual and reproductive health care access in ending the HIV epidemic. Her statement begins at 45:00.
