Since the first observance of it in 1988 as a method of raising awareness of HIV and AIDS the disease has killed more than 25 million people worldwide since 1981, and it's estimated that 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV.
It's also an issue in the trans community, which is why I'm writing about World AIDS Day. Various needs assessments have documented infection rates in trans populations of up to 25%. Some trans people contracted it through sharing needles due to silicone pumping party injections with an infected person, engaging in unprotected sex either with an infected partner or while performing sex work.
The 2010 theme for World AIDS day is Universal Access and Human Rights. In this current climate in which people with privilege arrogantly think they can run roughshod over the rights of others, it's even more important to stand up for folks who are fighting to live with HIV/AIDS and say 'hell no you can't'.
I have dear freind who are living with HIV, and have lost dear friends, classmates and family members to AIDS. So on this day I take a moment to think about the people we've lost, the folks struggling to live a quality life while battling HIV, and pray that a cure is found for it as expeditiously as possible.
