November 2005

Plan Now for World AIDS Day December 1

The 2005 World AIDS Day, which is now being organized by the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) rather than UNAIDS, will have the general theme “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.” World AIDS Day has been observed annually since 1988. The current theme is an appeal to governments and policymakers to ensure that they meet the targets they have agreed on in the fight against HIV and AIDS. In the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment signed by all 189 UN members in June 2001, the following targets were set for the end of 2005:

  • Reduce HIV prevalence by 25% among men and women aged 15–24 in the most affected countries.
  • Ensure that at least 90% of young people aged 15–24 have access to the information, education, and services necessary to develop the life skills required to reduce their vulnerability to HIV infection.
  • Reduce the proportion of infants infected with HIV by 20% by increasing access to services that prevent mother-to-child transmission.
  • Increase annual spending on HIV and AIDS to $7–$10 billion in low and middle-income countries and those countries experiencing or at risk of rapid expansion of HIV epidemics.

World AIDS Day poster

World AIDS Day poster

Posters from the World AIDS Day Campaign organizers, with the theme, “Don’t Turn Your Back on AIDS” can be downloaded.

One of the Millennium Development Goals, to which all UN members are committed, is to have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Because “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise” will remain the theme for WAC until 2010, some organizations are choosing more specific themes for their own observance.