When World AIDS Day was founded in 1988 as the first ever global health day, it was before today’s college-aged population was born, and before the availability of pre-exposure prophylactic medications (PreP and PEP) that can prevent someone who might be exposed to HIV from developing the illness.
We honor the many who lost their lives in the years of global pandemic; every person who died during the early and frightening times of the AIDS crisis is a loss to family, friends and community. AIDS is still an illness that devastates many communities and countries around the globe. It continues to make its biological mark through HIV transmission, and its societal mark through stigma.
The lessons of the pandemic of recent times, COVID-19, is fresher in our memories. We have the shared experience of having lived through this upheaval together: uncertainty of what causes the illness, how it is transmitted, and who is most at risk. We have also seen populations stigmatized, which only increases the likelihood that people at risk may not get the screening, care, or treatment that they need.
On this World AIDS Day, we can each take actions that will improve the health and wellbeing of our communities, protect ourselves, our families, and our partners.
- Know your status. Did you know that 1 in 7 persons in the U.S. who has HIV are unaware they are positive? An annual HIV test is covered by all insurances; it is available to students through USC Student Health.
- Test “pre and post”: if you are with a new partner, test before and after beginning a sexual relationship (this applies to other STIs as well)
- Use barriers (condoms and dental dams) to increase protection and prevention for both you and your partners
- If you might be at higher risk of infection, by population or practice, talk to your provider about a pre-exposure pharmaceutical regimen (PrEP) that can reduce your risk.
In the decades since the very first World AIDS Day, we have made progress in helping people with HIV manage what is now in the U.S. considered a treatable chronic condition. There is work on developing safe, effective, and affordable vaccines to reduce the annually estimated 1.5 million new cases of around the world. Each of us can help add to this progress, by learning more, getting tested, and reducing stigma for people and communities who experience greater exposure to a virus.
A global pandemic can also form a global community, where we look after each other, with knowledge, care, and support.
We hope you will join us in reducing the impact of AIDS and other global preventable illnesses.
USC Student Health
