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Dec 1 is World AIDS Day

World AIDS day is a time to raise awareness and knowledge of the HIV epidemic and speak out against stigma — all to advocate for increased resources being prioritized to end the HIV epidemic.

According to the CDC, “HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
There is currently no effective cure. Once people get HIV, they have it for life.” However, with proper treatment, people with HIV can live healthy lives.

HIV originates from a certain species of chimpanzee in Central Africa, and likely passed to humans when people hunted them for meat. Studies have shown that this jump from chimpanzees to humans occurred as far back as the late 1800s, and slowly spread across Africa. HIV has been in the United States since at least the mid to late 1970s, which sparked the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. Due to the disproportionate impact on gay and bisexual men and transgender women, there was a great deal of stigma around the AIDS epidemic, which resulted in a lackluster response from the US Government. Today, there are 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S., and more than 700,000 people have died from HIV-related illness. As of 2020, 37.7 million people were living with HIV around the world, and 36.6 million people have died from AIDS-related illness since the start of the epidemic.

As we honor everyone who has been affected by HIV/AIDS around the world, we wanted to highlight some resources available at the library to help empower anyone affected. Stop by and check one out, or place a hold on any of these titles by following the corresponding link:

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