World AIDS Day

Today marks Worlds Aids Day, the day when we reflect on the progress being made to end HIV and AIDS.


According to UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report, “How to get to zero: Faster. Smarter. Better.” 21 November 2011, there is progress being made, but the reality of the AIDS epidemic is startling:

• At the end of 2010, an estimated 34 million people were living with HIV worldwide, up 17% from 2001;
• In the last year HIV incidence has fallen in 33 countries, 22 of them in sub-Saharan Africa;
• The total number of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa has dropped more than 26%, down to 1.9 million from the estimated 2.6 million at the height of the epidemic in 1997;
• In 22 sub-Saharan countries, research shows HIV incidence declined by more than 25% between 2001 and 2009;
• AIDS has claimed at least one million lives annually in sub- Saharan Africa since 1998. Since then, however, AIDS-related deaths have steadily decreased, as free antiretroviral therapy has become more widely available in the region.

Here at Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County we are also encouraged to see that Habitat for Humanity International is supporting families living with HIV in Cambodia. Since the program's inception in spring 2010, Habitat Cambodia has found safe and secure housing for 183 people living with HIV/AIDS. Read more about Habitat for Humanity Cambodia's work here.

What will you do today to support World Aids Day?