UN Secretary-General Message for World AIDS Day December 1
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
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MESSAGE ON WORLD AIDS DAY
1 December 2018
Thirty years after the first World AIDS Day, the response to HIV stands at a crossroads. Which way we turn may define
the course of the epidemic—whether we will end AIDS by 2030, or whether future generations will carry on bearing the
burden of this devastating disease.
More than 77 million people have become infected with HIV, and more than 35 million have died of an AIDS-related
illness. Huge progress has been made in diagnosis and treatment, and prevention efforts have avoided millions of new
infections.
Yet the pace of progress is not matching global ambition. New HIV infections are not falling rapidly enough. Some
regions are lagging behind, and financial resources are insufficient. Stigma and discrimination are still holding people
back, especially key populations— including gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, transgenders,
people who inject drugs, prisoners and migrants—and young women and adolescent girls. Moreover, one in four people
living with HIV do not know that they have the virus, impeding them from making informed decisions on prevention,
treatment and other care and support services.
There is still time -- to scale-up testing for HIV; to enable more people to access treatment; to increase resources
needed to prevent new infections; and to end the stigma. At this critical juncture, we need to take the right turn now.