World AIDS Day – 1st December 2014

World AIDS Day, observed on 1 December each year, is an important opportunity when governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals around the world bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic and emphasize the critical need for a committed, meaningful and sustained response. It is a day for people to show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. The global theme for World AIDS Day from 2011-2015, as selected by the World AIDS Campaign, is “Getting to Zero.” Backed by the United Nations, the “Getting to Zero” campaign focuses on the goals of zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS related deaths. For this particular year, the theme is Focus, Partner, Achieve:  An AIDS-free generation – to highlight the need to for governments and health officials, NGOs and individuals to address Aids prevention and treatment.

Although World AIDS Day is a great opportunity to get the public talking about HIV and fundraise, we need to remember the importance of raising awareness of HIV all year round. To date, there are an estimated 35.3 million people living with HIV – human immunodeficiency virus.

AIDS is one of the most important global public health issues in recorded history. Caused by infection with HIV, a person may experience a brief period with flu-like symptoms, before a long period with no symptoms. It renders the patient susceptible to infections like tuberculosis and certain cancers. In the final stages of Aids, lung infections and a type of cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma are common. HIV is primarily transmitted via unprotected sexual intercourse, contaminated blood transfusions, hypodermic needles, and from mother to child, via pregnancy, delivery or breastfeeding. HIV is treated with antiretrovirals, which work by stopping the virus replicating in the body, allowing the immune system to repair itself and preventing further damage.

At Mumbai Smiles, we do our bit to create awareness about such issues in the society by organizing awareness drives. As a part of various activities and events, we organize various campaigns, workshops and conferences to spread awareness at national and international levels.

We believe that spreading awareness can certainly prevent such diseases and make our society a better place to live.