World AIDS Day 2020: Everything you need to know

Team Udayavani, Dec 1, 2020, 11:23 AM IST

World AIDS Day is being observed today, December 1.  Its purpose is to make people aware of AIDS and what leads to it. AIDS is an epidemic caused by human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus infection.

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The HIV virus attacks the immune system of the patient and reduces its resistance to other diseases.

According to the World Health Organisation, in 2019, 38,000,000 people were living with HIV, 1,700,000 people were newly infected with HIV and 690,000 people died of HIV-related causes.

According to India tv, World AIDS Day was first conceived in 1987 in the month of August by Thomas Netter and James W. Bann. Thomas Netter and James W. Bann were both public information officers for the AIDS Global Program of the World Health Organization Geneva, Switzerland.

He conveyed his idea of ​​AIDS Day to Dr. Johnathan Mann (Director of AIDS Global Program), who approved the idea and celebrated it on December 1 in 1988 as World AIDS Day. They decided to dedicate this date every year as World AIDS Day.

The theme of World AIDS Day 2020 is “Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Resilience and Impact”