Dear All,

Today is the commemoration of World Aids Day. This day has been set aside by the United Nations (UN).  This day is always marked on the 1st of December of every year and this year’s commemoration is no different.

This year,the United Nation is marked the day with the theme; “Global Solidarity and Shared Responsibility”. According to the World Health Organization, the global HIV epidemic is not over and may be accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a devastating impact on communities and countries. In 2019, there were still 38 million people living with HIV infection. One in five people living with HIV were not aware of their infection and one in 3 people receiving HIV treatment experienced disruption to the supply of HIV treatments, testing and prevention services, especially children and adolescents. In 2019, 690 000 people died from HIV-related causes and 1.7 million people were newly infected, with nearly 2 in three (62%) of these new infections occurring among key populations and their partners.

Despite significant efforts, progress in scaling up HIV services was already stalling before the COVID-19 pandemic. Slowing progress means the world will be missing the “90-90-90” targets for 2020, which were to ensure that: 90% of people living with HIV are aware of their status; 90% of people diagnosed with HIV are receiving treatment; and 90% of all people receiving treatment have achieved viral suppression. Missing these intermediate targets will make it even more difficult to achieve the end of AIDS by 2030.

According to Dr. Erasmus Morah, Country Representative, Joint UN Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) for Nigeria,  no fewer than 1.6 million Nigerians have died from HIV/AIDS since the outbreak of the epidemic in 1985.This disclosure was made during a candlelight memorial for people  who died from the disease in Nigeria. 

This day is a day of observance dedicated to raising awareness of the Aids pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who died from the condition.