HIV Awareness Days

It seems like commemorative days are the new black. Every cause and disease has a day, week, or month devoted to them. But before you start feeling overwhelmed with keeping up on whose month it is, take a deep breath. A commemorative day (or week or month) simply provides you with the opportunity to acknowledge your chosen cause. That personal acknowledgement and perhaps a quick comment (or wall post) to a friend (or follower) can be enough.

Of course, some people want to do more. For the upcoming International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, over 115 countries will mark the day with events ranging from HIV testing clinics to marches to presentations to cultural rituals. This day, a program of the Global Health Council, was the first public AIDS awareness event. This grassroots event started in 1983 and continues to provide the opportunity to commemorate the lives of those we have lost to AIDS. Though there are no official events in Alberta, on May 16th please join us remembering the estimated 13,000 Canadians who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS.

Just two days later, we celebrate a more hopeful day. May 18th is HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. On May 18, 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton issued a challenge to the world to develop an AIDS vaccine. One year later on May 18th, World AIDS Vaccine Day was launched to acknowledge the urgency of finding a preventive HIV vaccine.

Eleven years later, with the pandemic still raging, prevention continues to be our best hope at stemming the HIV tide. The world is in desperate need of more prevention options that can curb and eventually stop the transmission of this disease. As the urgent call for new prevention methods resounds throughout the world, we must continue to strive to develop a vaccine.

The day you are probably most familiar with falls on December 1st each year, World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day receives a great deal of attention and international media coverage. We invite you to learn a bit more about these lesser known HIV awareness days and tell even just one person about them. We can all create opportunities to promote awareness of HIV/AIDS in our community.