Since the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) became widespread in the 1980s, they have become a global epidemic that has affected millions of individuals and claimed the lives of thousands.

The United Nations and other international organizations have continually informed people about what HIV and AIDS are, in order to allow them to prevent it and to reduce misconceptions about the diseases. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reported in the 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update that new HIV infections have been reduced by 17 percent over the past eight years. Since 2001, when the United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was signed, the number of new infections in sub-Saharan Africa has been approximately 15 percent lower, around 400,000 fewer infections in 2008. In East Asia, new HIV infections declined by nearly 25 percent and in South and Southeast Asia by 10 percent in the same period. In Eastern Europe, after a dramatic increase in new infections among injecting drug users, the epidemic has leveled off considerably. However, in some countries there are signs that new HIV infections are rising again.

The report said HIV prevention programs making a difference. While there are around 33 million people living with HIV worldwide, with around 2.4 million newly infected in 2008 and 2 million dying of AIDS-related illness, the number of AIDS-related deaths has declined by over 10 percent in the past five years as more people gained access to life-saving treatment. UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that since the availability of effective treatment in 1996, some 2.9 million lives have been saved. Antiretroviral therapy has also made a significant impact in preventing new infections in children. Around 200,000 new infections among children have been prevented since 2001. In Bostwana, where treatment coverage is 80 percent, AIDS-related deaths have fallen by over 50 percent in the past five years.

While the 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update points to some gains, the observance of United Nations World Aids Day Tuesday focuses on a remaining important dimension in the fight against HIV/AIDS – the relevance of human rights in the continuing campaign to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and to provide those who are affected the care and medical attention they deserve. With the theme “Universal Access and Human Rights” the key slogans for this year’s World Aids Day include "I am accepted," “I am safe,” “Everyone deserves to live their rights,” and “Access for all to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support is a critical part of human rights.”

While there are positive gains in curtailing the spread of HIV/AIDS, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS demands from each of us a commitment to recognize that they must be provided the same opportunities and cared for, inasmuch as they are imbued with the same inalienable rights that every one of us should enjoy.