This evening at 6 PM at Place Bourgada (in front of the Church of the Vow), the collective fighting against AIDS is organizing, in partnership with the Department of Alpes-Maritimes, a large gathering.
On this occasion, a human chain will be formed representing the AIDS ribbon, followed by a minute of silence in memory of those who have passed away.
Since 1988, the year of its creation, World AIDS Day has become a crucial event for mobilization and a prime moment to raise public awareness in order to curb the epidemic.
However, over the last five years, 1.9 million adults worldwide have newly contracted the virus every year.
For the record: In 2014/2015, UNAIDS estimated that:
36.9 million people are living with HIV worldwide
2 million people were newly infected with HIV = approximately 5,600 per day, of which 30% of the 5,000 adults over the age of 15 infected are between 15 and 24 years old
1.2 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region with 25.8 million people living with HIV. In 2014, it accounted for 70% of new HIV infections globally.
UNAIDS highlights the decrease in new infections and AIDS-related deaths over the last decade as well as the increase in antiretroviral coverage (15.8 million individuals under treatment as of June 2015). These data indicate significant progress towards universal access to care.
However, among people living with HIV, about 17 million (or 46%) are unaware of their HIV status, and three out of five infected individuals (nearly 22 million) still do not have access to treatment.
