HIV/AIDS

World AIDS Day 2008

World AIDS Day, observed each year on 1 December, is dedicated to raising awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It provides an opportunity to express solidarity and support for those living with HIV/AIDS, and to ensure the pandemic is kept on the national and international agenda. Globally, an estimated 33 million people are living with HIV, with nearly 7500 new infections each day.

The World AIDS Campaign has chosen "leadership" as the global theme for 2007-2008, urging all levels of society—individuals, organizations and governments—to take the lead in the response to HIV/AIDS. This theme is intended to highlight the discrepancy between the commitments made to halt the spread of AIDS, and actions taken to follow them through.

Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
Photo: Christopher Black
Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, (Institut Pasteur, Paris), 2008 Nobel Laureate in Medicine for her co-discovery of the HIV virus, addresses WHO HQ in Geneva on World AIDS Day, 2008.
Mr Christopher Bailey, President of the WHO Staff Association, Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Institut Pasteur, Paris, Dr Hiroki Nakatani, Assistant Director-General, HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Mr Manuel Da Quinta, representative of UN Plus and UNAIDS
Photo: Christopher Black
Mr Christopher Bailey, President of the WHO Staff Association, Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Institut Pasteur, Paris, Dr Hiroki Nakatani, Assistant Director-General, HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Mr Manuel Da Quinta, representative of UN Plus and UNAIDS.
Festivities during World AIDS Day 2008 at WHO HQ in Geneva
Photo: Christopher Black
Festivities during World AIDS Day 2008 at WHO HQ in Geneva.
Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Institut Pasteur, Paris, joins the festivities during World AIDS Day 2008 at WHO HQ in Geneva.
Photo: Christopher Black
Dr Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Institut Pasteur, Paris, joins the festivities during World AIDS Day 2008 at WHO HQ in Geneva.
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