World AIDS Day: 1st December 2026
Introduction: Global health commemorative days and scientific conferences provide platforms to raise awareness about priority public health issues and to share evidence for action. The October–December quarter includes days dedicated to mental health, breast cancer, infection prevention, pneumonia, diabetes, antimicrobial resistance and HIV, alongside national, professional and continental scientific conferences among others. These occasions offer governments, institutions, partners, communities and individuals an opportunity to strengthen advocacy, improve public understanding, and promote actions that contribute to better health outcomes.
Uganda has reduced new HIV infections from 96,000 in 2010 to 37,000 in 2024, yet infections among adolescent girls and young women remain a major concern.
World AIDS Day is observed every year on 1 December to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS, honour those who have died of AIDS-related illnesses, and renew commitment to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. AIDS-related deaths in Uganda fell from 56,000 in 2010 to 20,000 in 2024; among people living with HIV, 94% know their status, 90% of those diagnosed are on antiretroviral therapy, and 96% of those on treatment have achieved viral suppression. Despite these gains, girls accounted for about four in every five new infections among adolescents in 2024. This year’s commemoration is an opportunity to intensify HIV prevention among adolescents and young women, including HIV testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis, condom use and comprehensive sexuality information, to reduce stigma, and to keep people living with HIV on treatment.
Authors: Winfred Nakaweesi1*, Allan Amandu1, Robert Masamba Namisi2, Irene Ayaa1
Institutional affiliation: 1Uganda Public Health Fellowship Program, Uganda National Institute of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda; 2Uganda Public Health Fellowship Program-Laboratory Leadership Program; Uganda National Institute of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda
*Correspondence: Email: wnakaweesi@uniph.go.ug; Tel: +256774572807
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