This World Aids Day (1 December) marks forty years after the first five cases of AIDS were first identified in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), in June 1981. Today, 38 million people are living with HIV.

World AIDS Day, held on December 1 since 1988, is an international day dedicated to creating awareness of the HIV/AIDS burden worldwide. Thus far, of the approximately 38 million people with HIV worldwide, around 26 million are on retroviral therapy, which is triple the number in 2010 (UN Report, 2020). Furthermore, AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 56% since 2005 (UNAIDS, 2019). Despite these achievements, significant challenges remain, with increasing rates of infections in key communities.