World Aids Day: December 1

World AIDS Day was first conceived in August 1987 by James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Global Programme on AIDS at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Bunn and Netter took their idea to Dr. Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global Programme on AIDS (now known as UNAIDS). Dr. Mann liked the concept, approved it, and agreed with the recommendation that the first observance of World AIDS Day should be 1 December, 1988.

Bunn suggested the date of December 1st to ensure coverage by western news media, something he believed was vital to the success of World AIDS Day. He felt that because 1988 was an election year in the U.S. media outlets would be weary of their post-election coverage and eager to find a fresh story to cover. Bunn and Netter felt that December 1 was long enough after the election and soon enough before the Christmas holidays that it was, in effect, a dead spot in the news calendar and thus perfect timing for World AIDS Day.

(Bunn, originally a reporter covering the epidemic for KPIX-TV in San Francisco, along with producer Nancy Saslow, also conceived and initiated “AIDS Lifeline” – a public awareness and health education campaign that was syndicated to television stations in the U.S. "AIDS Lifeline" was honored with a Peabody Award, a local Emmy, and the first National Emmy ever awarded to a local station in the U.S.

On 18 June, 1986 the “AIDS Lifeline” project was honored with a Presidential Citation for Private Sector Initiatives, presented by President Ronald Reagan. Bunn was then asked by Dr. Mann, on behalf of the U.S. government, to take a two-year leave-of-absence from his reporting duties to join Dr. Mann (an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control) and assist in the creation of the Global Programme on AIDS. Mr. Bunn accepted and was named the first Public Information Officer for the Global Programme on AIDS. Along with Mr. Netter he created, designed, and implemented the inaugural World AIDS Day observance – now the longest-running disease awareness and prevention initiative of its kind in the history of public health.)

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) became operational in 1996, and it took over the planning and promotion of World AIDS Day. Rather than focus on a single day, UNAIDS created the World AIDS Campaign in 1997 to focus on year-round communications, prevention and education.

In its first two years, the theme of World AIDS Day focused on children and young people. These themes were strongly criticized at the time for ignoring the fact that people of all ages may become infected with HIV and suffer from AIDS.[7] But the themes drew attention to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped alleviate some of the stigma surrounding the disease, and helped boost recognition of the problem as a family disease.

In 2004, the World AIDS Campaign became an independent organization.

Each year, Pope have released a greeting message for patients and doctors on World AIDS Day.

HIV may seem like an old problem by now, but it’s still very much relevant.

Worldwide, 33.4 million people are living with HIV, including 2.1 children younger than 15. Even high-income countries like the US haven’t made much progress on reducing new cases of HIV.

For North American and Western and Central Europe, the number of new HIV infections for 2008 was 75,000, compared with 93,000 new cases in 2001. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the number of new HIV infections for 2008 was 1.9 million, compared with 2.3 million in 2001. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region most affected by HIV with 22.4 million people currently living with HIV.


HIV is a virus, but AIDS occurs when someone living with HIV can no longer fight off diseases that a typical immune system can handle.

How HIV is spread:

* A baby may be born with HIV if the mother carries it. If you plan on becoming pregnant, it’s important to know whether you have HIV.
* Drug users may get HIV from shared drug equipment like needles or syringes.
* People who have unprotected sex with an infected partner will get HIV. Use a condom. HIV may also be spread through oral sex.
* HIV may be passed on through breast milk, semen, vaginal fluids and blood.

While there’s no cure for HIV, early treatment may help keep the virus under control. Visit WorldAIDSDay.org or AIDS.gov for ideas on how you can Do Something to help.