World AIDS Day 2020: Simple Ways to Get Involved

World AIDS Day happens on Dec. 1 each year. First held in 1988, this global event is devoted to spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS, support those who are living with HIV/AIDS and remember those who died from AIDS-related illnesses in the past years.

To mark the day, various organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hold relevant webinars from which individuals can learn about HIV/AIDS. However, there are also other simple ways that people can get involved in this year's event.

Wear Red

Red is the known symbol for World AIDS Day and many people wear red on Dec. 1 or even on any regular day to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS. One can also wear a red ribbon on this day. By doing so, they can start a conversation with other people to help them become more aware of the facts and debunk the misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, therefore contributing to the fight against the stigma surrounding it.

Go Social

Using social media is a good way to help spread awareness, compassion and medically accurate facts about HIV/AIDS from trusted sources such as UNAIDS, which can provide accurate data on the state of AIDS worldwide.

Although one won't get to share ribbons or engage in an active discussion with people on the streets, using social media to spread awareness can also reach a wide audience with just a few, careful clicks.

Watch Or Recommend HIV/AIDS-Themed Films

Another way one can learn more about HIV/AIDS is by watching movies about it and the people who have to live with it. As the HHS said, stigma, discrimination, exclusion and social inequality continue to be barriers in the fight against HIV prevention and treatment.

By watching or recommending films about the people who live with HIV/AIDS or have dedicated their lives to fighting it, one could help open some minds by humanizing the global battle that millions worldwide are fighting.

Stay Updated

Keeping up to date on the state of things is a good way to stay involved, not just on World AIDS Day, but at any other time of the year. This way, one would have a better understanding of how the battle is going and know what else can be done to help.

UNAIDS' 2020 data shows that in 2019, there were about 38 million people in the world who were living with HIV. That year, 1.7 people were newly infected with HIV while 690,000 died from an AIDS-related illness.

According to the HHS, it was a 23% decline in new HIV infections since 2010 and a 60% decline in AIDS-related deaths since 2004.

Still, there is still more work to do. And this year, the effort to eliminate AIDS has been particularly difficult as the COVID-19 restrictions limit people's access to treatments, especially within communities at risk.

"Now is the time for us to once again make a leap in our response to work together to end COVID-19 and get back on track to end HIV by 2030," the WHO said in its statement. "On World AIDS Day 2020, WHO is calling on global leaders and citizens to rally for 'global solidarity' to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19 on the HIV response."