World AIDS Day

Since 1988, December 1—World AIDS Day—has been a day of activism, reflection, and education. This year the World AIDS Campaign is focusing on universal access and human rights, asserting that access to medicine is a human right, not a privilege based on one's class or geographic status. Perhaps this focus stems from the notorious deprivation of medication so many infected with HIV in the world face. Though progress in education and medicine distribution is evident, many patients in the world cannot get life-saving medications. Doctors Without Borders works to get anti-retroviral medicines to those in countries ravaged by AIDS, such as South Africa where one in three women aged 25-29 and one in four men between 30 and 34 live with HIV, but the cost can often be prohibitive. In a country where 50% of the population lives below the poverty line, people are dying due to lack of access to medicine, a situation the World AIDS Campaign wants to end.

But AIDS is not only an issue on the other side of the ocean.

In 2008, the Inquirer reported that Philly's HIV infection rates are occurring at a rate of five times the national average. Currently 16,000 Philadelphians live with HIV, and 1,400 more are infected every year. Most new cases are people who do not think they are in high risk categories and often are not aware of their HIV status. The city hopes to double the number of HIV tests it does in the coming year. For a list of places where one can be tested anonymously and confidentially, check out this list of sites in region.

If you are looking for an opportunity to gather in celebration of World AIDS Day, the AIDS Fund Philadelphia is sponsoring an event on December 1. Testing and counseling will be available, and you can participate in commemorative activities.