AIDS Awareness Week

AIDS Awareness Week is a week, the last in November, when extra effort is made to raise AIDS awareness.

The 2016 date is November 21 – December 1.[1] It ends with World AIDS Day, which takes place on December 1.

History

In 1984 Dianne Feinstein, then mayor of San Francisco, declared the first AIDS Awareness Week.[2] The first AIDS Awareness Week took place in San Francisco with a goal of educating staff and students from San Francisco Community College about AIDS. This goal involves informing people about causes, effects, symptoms of AIDS, as well as prevention methods.[3] In the same year, in Toronto, ACT[4] held an AIDS Awareness Week, following on form New York's Aid AIDS Week[5]

Spreading awareness about AIDS also began to take place in other locations. Across Canada AIDS Awareness Week is the last week in November.[6] In 2002, the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) led a bilingual campaign for their awareness week from November 24-December 1, 2002. This campaign was centered on ending the stigma and discrimination against people who have HIV/AIDS. They also worked to inform people about preventative care against HIV. In addition, they provided the community with free resources and items to further help spread awareness to others.[7]

In 1991 the US President declared, in Proclamation 6305, that June 10–16 was to be Pediatric AIDS Awareness Week.[8] At this time over 157, 525 people had AIDS in the United States. About 2,734 of these people were children 13 years old and younger.[9]

Nation Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week has been extant in Canada from at least 2014.[10][11] It began in Vancouver, but now it takes place all throughout Canada. Aboriginal AIDS Awareness week begins on World AIDS Day, December 1, and last until December 5th.

[World] AIDS Awareness Week is held in Perth, Australia.[12]

Latterly some organizations have used the name "HIV/AIDS Awareness Week".

Goals

The goal of Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week is getting to zero.[10] Despite different methods used by aboriginal communities to try to decrease the prevalence of AIDS, populations like the First Nation tribes in Saskatchewan in Canada, have about 3.5 times more cases of AIDS than other areas in Canada, as well as higher than most third world countries.[13]

World AIDS Day was developed to bring awareness to the issue of AIDS in countries all around the globe and recognize the success and the steady decrease in AIDS diagnoses throughout the years.[14] UNAIDS believes solutions need to be long-term, rather than short-term responses.[15] Therefore, the goal is to look at prevention of HIV as well and World AIDS Day is a time to emphasize this and support people with AIDS, even though people are living with AIDS year-round. It is also a time to honor the people who lost their lives due to AIDS.[16]

Other observances

Aids Awareness Month has been declared in various countries. Also World Aids Day is an international UN sponsored observance.

The US government, in the form of aids.gov, presents an all-year-round diversity AIDS Awareness Calendar, for example for 2016:[17]

  • National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – 7 February
  • National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – 10 March
  • National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – 20 March
  • National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day – 10 April
  • National Transgender HIV Testing Day – 18 April
  • HIV Vaccine Awareness Day – 18 May
  • National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – 19 May
  • Hepatitis Testing Day – 19 May
  • HIV Long-Term Survivors Day – 5 June
  • National HIV Testing Day – 27 June
  • National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day – 18 September
  • National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – 27 September
  • National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day – 15 October
  • World AIDS Day – 1 December

See also

    References

    1. ↑ http://www.nhcsociety.ca/aids-awareness-week
    2. ↑ Mick Sinclair (1 September 2003). San Francisco: A Cultural and Literary History. Signal Books. p. 215. ISBN 978-1-902669-65-6.
    3. ↑ Bernstein, Diana; Roaman, Chester A. "AIDS Awareness Week: An Operational Model". Journal of American College Health. 37 (1): 36–39. doi:10.1080/07448481.1988.9939039.
    4. ↑ "History of ACT". actoronto.
    5. ↑ Ann Silversides (2003). AIDS Activist: Michael Lynch and the Politics of Community. Between The Lines. pp. 77ff. ISBN 978-1-896357-73-7.
    6. ↑ http://www.hivedmonton.com/events/world-aids-day-aids-awareness-week
    7. ↑ Dafoe, Gerald H. (2002-01-01). "Update / Mise à jour". Canadian Journal of Public Health / Revue Canadienne de Sante'e Publique. 93 (5): 324–324. JSTOR 41993969.
    8. ↑ The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America
    9. ↑ "Text of H.J.Res. 91 (102nd): Designating June 10 through 16, 1991, as "Pediatric AIDS Awareness Week". (Passed Congress/Enrolled Bill version) - GovTrack.us". GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
    10. 1 2 http://www.positivelite.com/component/zoo/item/national-aboriginal-aids-awareness-week-2014
    11. ↑ http://aboriginalaidsawareness.com/
    12. ↑ http://www.waaids.com/latest-news/world-aids-awareness-week-2015-wrap-up.html
    13. ↑ "'A First World country with Third World rates': Saskatchewan at the epicentre of HIV in Canada". National Post. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
    14. ↑ Lever, Andrew; Wainberg, Mark (2015-12-01). "World AIDS Day 2015". Retrovirology. 12. doi:10.1186/s12977-015-0228-7. ISSN 1742-4690. PMC 4667473. PMID 26627883.
    15. ↑ UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report. Joint United Nations Programme. 2011.
    16. ↑ "World AIDS Day". www.worldaidsday.org. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
    17. ↑ https://www.aids.gov/news-and-events/awareness-days/

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