December 1, 2017 is World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day provides an opportunity for people across the world to unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS as well as highlighting the continued support for organizations whose mission is to combat this disease. In addition, it’s also a day we can show solidarity for the millions of persons living with HIV and commemorate those who died from HIV/AIDS related illnesses. It is a campaign that reminds persons across the globe that there is still a need to increase awareness, raise funds, promote testing in our communities, fight prejudice and stigma against those living with HIV/AIDS and improve education on HIV/AIDS related illnesses. The World AIDS Day 2017 theme is “Increasing Impact through Transparency, Accountability”.
According to the 2016 statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 36.7 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS with 1.2 million of those diagnosed living in the United States. An additional alarming statistic cited by CDC, is that one out of eight persons in this country are unaware they have contracted HIV. African Americans still account for a higher proportion of new HIV diagnoses compared to other races. African Americans accounted for 45% of HIV diagnoses, though we only comprise 12% of the United States population. Although the number of diagnoses for African American women has significantly decreased over the last decade, it is still higher than women of other races/ethnicities. Statistics cited by CDC show that in 2015, 4,524 African American women were diagnosed with HIV, compared with 1,131 Hispanic/Latino women and 1,431 white women. HIV/AIDS also ranks high as the leading cause of death for African American women ages 25-34.