We Want You to Know… This year’s World AIDS Day theme for 2022 is “equalize”. The “Equalize” slogan is a call to action. It is a prompt for all of us to work for the proven practical actions needed to address inequalities & help end AIDS.

Each year, on 1 December, the world commemorates World AIDS Day with people around the world who unite to show support for people living with HIV and to remember those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses. Each World AIDS Day focuses on a specific theme, which this year will be Equalize. UNAIDS is urging each of us to address the inequalities which are holding back progress in ending AIDS. This year’s theme joins a growing list of challenges that World AIDS Day has alerted people to globally.

The inequalities which perpetuate the AIDS pandemic are not inevitable; we can tackle them. This World AIDS Day, 1 December, UNAIDS is urging each of us to address the inequalities which are holding back progress in ending AIDS.  The “Equalize” slogan is a call to action. It is a prompt for all of us to work for the proven practical actions needed to address inequalities and help end AIDS. These include:

Increase availability, quality and suitability of services, for HIV treatment, testing and prevention, so that everyone is well-served.

Reform laws, policies and practices to tackle the stigma and exclusion faced by people living with HIV and by key and marginalised populations, so that everyone is shown respect and is welcomed.

Ensure the sharing of technology to enable equal access to the best HIV science, between communities and between the Global South and North.

Communities will be able to make use of and adapt the “Equalize” message to highlight the particular inequalities they face and to press for the actions needed to address them.

Data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveals that during the last two years of COVID-19 and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk, and millions of lives are at risk as a result.

Four decades into the HIV response, inequalities still persist for the most basic services like testing, treatment, and condoms, and even more so for new technologies.

“We can end AIDS – if we end the inequalities which perpetuate it. This World AIDS Day we need everyone to get involved in sharing the message that we will all benefit when we tackle inequalities,” says UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. “To keep everyone safe, to protect everyone’s health, we need to Equalize.”