World AIDS Vaccine Day 2023: History, significance and all you need to know

World AIDS Vaccine Day is marked on 18 May every year. Also known as HIV Vaccine Knowledge Day, the occasion highlights the importance of HIV vaccination in preventing HIV-related illnesses and deaths. In addition, the day is observed to spread awareness about HIV prevention through vaccine manufacturing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 38.4 million people lived with HIV globally at 2021. An estimated 0.7 percent of adults aged 15-49 years worldwide live with HIV at present, although the burden of the epidemic varies considerably between countries and regions.

The African region remains most affected with nearly 1 in every 25 adults (3.4 percent) living with HIV and accounting for more than two-thirds of HIV patients worldwide.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced form of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is an infection that affects the body’s immune system. The key targets are body’s white blood cells. The weakened immune system makes it an easy target for other deadly diseases like Tuberculosis, infections and some cancers.

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History

World AIDS Vaccine Day was observed for the first time in 1998. Former US president Bill Clinton challenged the world to create an AIDS vaccine within the next decade in his commencement speech at Morgan State University on 18 May, 1997.

Awareness

As a result of lack of understanding and misinformation, HIV/AIDS terrified the world in the mid-80s. Princess Diana opened London Middlesex Hospital’s first HIV/AIDS unit exclusively for patients with the virus in April 1987. She shook the hand of a man suffering from the illness in front of the world’s media. Princess Diana did so without gloves, challenging the notion that HIV/AIDS was spread by touch. Through a single gesture, she demonstrated that compassion and understanding were needed to heal. She stressed on the fact that kissing, hugging, shaking hands, or sharing food or water couldn’t spread the virus.

Significance

The goal of World AIDS Vaccine Day is to celebrate the contributions of people from varied sections of society. Communities, professionals, and volunteers play a key role in the safe and effective development of HIV vaccines. In addition, the day is an opportunity to educate communities on the importance of HIV vaccinations. Governments and NGOs around the world organise activities to raise awareness about AIDS/HIV vaccines on World AIDS Vaccine Day.

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