Today is World AIDS Day

red ribbon is used for world aids day

December 1, 2011 is World AIDS Day and here are a few facts:

• Worlds AIDS Day is first observed in 1988 and this year marks the 23rd anniversary.
• This year's theme for the said celebration is "Getting to Zero" Zero New HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination, and Zero AIDS Related Deaths.
• The purpose of designating this special day is to increase  public awareness and education about AIDS/HIV disease.
• HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus - a virus that attacks the body's immune system

Worldwide Statistics of HIV/AIDS (updated November 2011)

• More than 34 million people now live with HIV/AIDS.
• 3.4 million of them are under the age of 15.
• In 2010, an estimated 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV.
• 390,000 were under the age of 15.
• Every day more than 7,000 people contract HIV—nearly 300 every hour.
• In 2010, 1.8 million people died from AIDS.
• 250,000 of them were under the age of 15.
• Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 60 million people have contracted HIV and nearly 30 million have died of HIV-related causes.

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