Blog

– Abiodun Alabi

Dear World: It’s time to double down on fighting the pandemic of HIV, and World AIDS Day is just the place to start. After a successful 2021 campaign with record-breaking events around the world, there’s
more to be done. This year, we have a unique opportunity to make an impact again in 2022 by supporting our efforts from last year and working with us to design a bigger and better campaign for this coming December. We believe that community is key to tackling new challenges head-on. The passion of you, our readers and fellow change-makers is what makes our work as an organization possible. We
invite you to join us in creating an even stronger global coalition to fight this disease.

By The Numbers: Our 2021
Impact Report

We look back on the impact of the 2021 campaign. From the UNAIDS/WAD Index to the Global AIDS Quilt that captured hearts around the world, there is much to be proud of. – New HIV infections have dropped by 54% since 2001. – The number of people who have tested for HIV has increased globally by 85%. – More than 2 billion people have been reached with the message of World AIDS Day. – The number of people
receiving antiretroviral drugs has increased by 35 million since 2010.

WAD 2022 Is Coming

As we work towards 2022 World AIDS Day, we need your help to make it a success. Join the conversation on social media to share your ideas and learn from others, help us to create awareness and end the stigma and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

A Bigger and Better 2022

To make 2022 even stronger than 2021, we’re expanding our work to include more research, more awareness, and more comfort for caregivers. This campaign brings together leaders in the HIV vaccine
research and development community to build a global movement to accelerate the development of an effective HIV vaccine. The HIV Treatment Access Campaign will focus on expanding treatment access and improving the quality of care, while the Ending the Stigma Campaign will address the social barriers to testing and treatment.

More Access to Effective HIV Treatments

Progress on this front requires action on three fronts as well: strengthening partnerships with governments and health systems, increasing access to generic drugs, and ensuring appropriate care for people
living with HIV. Strengthening partnerships with governments and health systems will require new research to identify barriers to treatment access, better data on how people are currently accessing treatment, and ways to address any limitations.

Together, We’ll Help End the Stigma Around HIV and AIDS

The stigma around HIV and AIDS is one of the biggest challenges we face. We need this stigma to end, so more people are tested, treated, and can lead healthy and productive lives. To achieve this,
we’re investing in new research to identify the best ways to reduce stigma, as well as new tools and approaches that can be used to spread the message that people living with HIV can live normal and productive lives. This will require us to better understand the many different forms of stigma, identify situations where it’s currently being used, and develop interventions that can help replace it with empathy and understanding.

Equalise to end AIDS

The fight against HIV is far from over. While the numbers are in our favour and progress has been made, there is still more work to do. The global theme for the 2022 WAD is “Equalise” and it is “Equalise to end AIDS” in Nigeria. This will be a unique opportunity to bring the world together and make an even bigger impact than we did in 2021.