1 December is World AIDS Day.

This 1 December 2018 marks the 30th Anniversary of World Aids Day with this year’s theme being “Know Your Status”. The Red Ribbon is the universal symbol of awareness and support for people living with the disease.

Even though the world at large has been dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic since it’s emergence, there is still stigma attached to people living with the disease. This is largely because of a lack of knowledge on how it is contracted and it’s unfortunate branding as an “immoral” disease.

As part of this year’s theme, people are encouraged to go for testing with emphasis on access to HIV prevention, treatment and care.

Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV prevalences in sub-Saharan Africa at 13.3%, with 1.3 million people living with HIV in 2017. Young women and girls are disproportionately affected.

1 December is a day the whole world can uniting in showing support, raise global awareness of the pandemic and remember those who have lost their lives to it.

What part are you playing in eradicating this blight on the world population? #knowyourstatus