World AIDS Day 2023

On this year’s World AIDS Day, we celebrate communities who have been on the frontline of the AIDS response for four decades. Through our photo story, we showcase the perspective of those leading in communities and hear directly from them.

Communities are key in tracking progress on HIV prevention and holding leaders to account. On World AIDS Day, we are launching the 2023 HIV Prevention & Accountability reports. Developed in collaboration with 126 partners, the reports provide a holistic picture of what HIV prevention looks like in each country from the perspective of civil society and communities in 10 countries.

We know that the journey to end AIDS is led by young people, advocates, health workers, peer educators, and community members. Civil society and communities innovate, advocate and connect people with lifesaving services. Their leadership must be fully funded and protected, with all barriers removed.

Together with our partners around the world, we demand urgent action. Governments and decision-makers must recognise the vital role of communities in leading the AIDS response.

Together, we are stronger.

Want to join in with our collective call on World AIDS Day? Check out our social media toolkit in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic.

Peer counsellors at GALZ provide insights to healthcare workers so that LGBTQ+ people and other marginalised communities get equal access to HIV services in Zimbabwe.

Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT) in Zimbabwe supports safe spaces for young people to feel empowered and in control of their sexual health.

READY peer supporters from Zvandiri offer lifesaving support to young people and advocate for stigma-free access and youth-friendly health services in Zimbabwe.

Massogui Thiandoume and Ngor Ndiaye from Alliance Nationale Contre le SIDA (ANCS) work with marginalised communities in Senegal to drive change.

It’s time to #LetCommunitiesLead!

Hear from advocates, peer educators, health workers, and programme implementors about what this means to them…

“I’ve been providing HIV care and treatment for almost three years, and it’s time for us to start acknowledging local communities, particularly those who have been affected by HIV.” 

– Aaron Mulisa, Alive Medical Services, Uganda

“Leadership always has to come from the communities, above all to give a voice to those who have always been invisible, have always been hidden, like us sex workers.”

– María Lucy Esquivel, RedTraSex, Paraguay

“Communities must break down the silos that exist among them, and established leaders need to decentralise their knowledge to the emerging generation of young people living with HIV.”

– Mona Balani, Alliance India

“More than 40 years into the AIDS epidemic, the obstacles to HIV eradication are still multiple and intertwined. One thing is certain: without the effective involvement of our communities, the eradication of HIV by 2030 is doomed to failure.”

 – Younès Yatine, ALCS, Morocco 

“Ending AIDS is impossible without properly ensuring the rights of communities are protected and human rights related barriers in accessing health services are overcome.”

– Nadia Semchuk, Alliance for Public Health, Ukraine