World AIDS Day 2010 On December 1, 2010, the world will once again mark World AIDS day. Whilst we are all familiar with the iconic red ribbon, how familiar are young people with the real issues surrounding HIV/AIDS?

'The theme of the conference was ‘Rights here, Rights Now’, emphasising how crucial it is that every person who needs treatment receives it, and that we fight the stigma, discrimination and rights violations HIV positive people can experience in their daily lives'

A year ago on World AIDS Day 2009, I was away on the global volunteering programme called ‘Platform2’. I lived and worked within a rural community in a developing country where I witnessed the failures in state welfare and inadequacies of local medical facilities first hand.

A good healthcare system is something we take for granted in the developed world, and upon my return to the UK I was keen to build on my knowledge of global issues like HIV/AIDS and to make a difference. This led me to volunteer at the International AIDS Conference.

Volunteering for the 2010 International AIDS Conference in July took me to the Austrian capital of Vienna, where the event was attended by almost 20,000 scientists, government representatives, health workers, activists, business leaders, and people living with HIV/AIDS from around the world.

The theme of the conference was ‘Rights Here, Rights Now’, emphasising how crucial it is that every person who needs treatment receives it, and that we fight the stigma, discrimination and rights violations HIV positive people can experience in their daily lives.

During the six day conference, activists made their voices heard and directed their anger at global leaders around the cuts in funding for treatment programmes and research, which they blamed on the global economic crisis.

Protesters would share the main stage with some of the world’s most powerful people in science and politics; Vienna became the place for every party to voice their concerns. What was reiterated throughout the conference was how far we still have to go.

2010 marked the year that failed to meet the Millennium Development Goal of universal access to treatment for all those living with HIV/AIDS. 2015 is the new set date for the Millennium Development Goal of universal access, when we will hopefully see every single person who needs treatment receiving it.

'A good healthcare system is something we take for granted in the developed world, and upon my return to the UK I was keen to build on my knowledge of global issues like HIV/AIDS and to make a difference.'

As much I thought I knew prior to the conference, volunteering turned out to be educational as well as highly inspirational. I learned from other young people who are leading the way in the fight against HIV/AIDS in their own countries. It was fascinating to hear their reasons for wanting justice for those living with HIV/AIDS in their communities.

New infections in the developed world as well as the developing world mean we still need World AIDS Day in order to maintain awareness of those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS around the globe. In 2010 HIV/AIDS is a pandemic that knows no boundaries, it affects people from all corners of this planet, people of all ages and races. As Annie Lennox reminded us during the conference, the face of AIDS of HIV/AIDS is now the most vulnerable: women and children in developing nations.

Let’s make December 1, 2010, a day to remember the lives that have already been lost, and a day to share the hope of a future without HIV/AIDS.

Words: Elaine Wong

Photos: flickr user Sully Pixel, Brandy Redangel

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