World AIDS Day has been commemorated every December 1st since 1988. It is dedicated to spread awareness of the AIDS epidemic, to acknowledge all those living with HIV and to mourn all that have died of the disease.
World HIV/AIDS
Since 1988, 44 million people worldwide have died of AIDS and 40.8 million were living with HIV in 2024. There have been remarkable advances in HIV treatment, but HIV still claimed 630,000 lives in 2024. Despite advances in medications to prevent HIV infection, 1.3 million acquired HIV in 2024.
The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response.” This highlights the impact that funding cuts have had on the global HIV response. The cuts from international donors have threatened to undo decades of progress in HIV treatment and severely disrupt HIV prevention efforts.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) calls for “sustained political leadership, international cooperation and human-rights-centered approaches to end AIDS by 2030.”
Orange County HIV
In Orange County, there were 6,955 persons living with HIV (PLWH) in 2024 that were aware of their status and an estimated additional 1,706 persons who are unaware they have HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 80.3% of PLWH know their status.
In 2024, 230 individuals in Orange County were newly diagnosed with HIV. This is a 14.8% decrease from 2020. Of these 230 people, 56 were diagnosed with AIDS at the time of their HIV diagnosis. This indicates they were likely infected for many years before getting tested.
Preventing HIV
Medications to prevent HIV are highly effective. These medications are called PrEP or pre-exposure prophylaxis. When the pills are taken on a regular basis, they are 99% effective to prevent getting infected. This year a new PrEP injection medication, Yeztugo (lenacapavir), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It is given as an injection under the skin but is only needed every 6 months. Those who are at risk of HIV infection need to know of the availability of PrEP no matter their insurance status.
Treating HIV
The advances in HIV treatment over the past two decades have changed the face of HIV care. It is now a very manageable, chronic disease. Most patients only have to take one pill, once-a-day and almost all patients can eliminate the virus completely from their blood. This is called being undetectable. When a person is undetectable, laboratory testing cannot detect any of the virus in the person’s blood. Without virus in the blood, the disease does not progress and the person remains healthy.
When a person is on medication and undetectable, they cannot pass the disease on to their sex partners. This concept is called U=U, undetectable mean untransmittable. You can learn more about U=U by clicking here.
Testing for HIV
A person can live a very long healthy life with HIV in 2025. It is a disease that is easily treated. But people need to know their HIV status so they can start treatment early, long before they might get sick. The CDC recommends everyone aged 13 to 64 get tested at least once as part of routine health care. Testing more frequently, every 3 to 6 months, is recommended for those at higher risk, especially gay or bisexual men, those with multiple sex partners and those who share needles during drug use.
On this 37th annual World AIDS Day, let’s reaffirm our collective commitment to ending the HIV epidemic:
It’s essential to ensure continued support and funding for HIV prevention and treatment programs.
Let’s talk openly about HIV, reduce stigma, and encourage testing for ourselves and our loved ones.
Help protect those at risk by increasing access to PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).
And work to connect individuals living with HIV to life-saving treatment as early as possible.
For more on Living with HIV, including resources in OC visit www.ochealthinfo.com/HIVCare.
For more on the HCA’s HIV/STD services visit www.ochealthinfo.com/stihiv.
About Dr. Christopher Ried
Dr. Christopher Ried graduated from UC Berkeley and the UCLA School of Medicine. He did his residency at the UCLA/West LA Veterans Administration Medical Center and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. He has been providing HIV care to the medically underserved for 34 years. For the past 25 years he has been the Medical Director of HIV/STD in the Public Health Services Division of the OC Health Care Agency.
