San Diegans will commemorate the 37th annual World AIDS Day Monday at various events around the county.
This year's theme is "Overcoming disruption; transforming the AIDS response," a call for sustained political leadership, international cooperation and a human rights-centered approaches to ending AIDS by 2030.
"The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care around the world," according to the World Health Organization. "It has become one of the most widely recognized international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have died, and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services."
UC San Diego is hosting free and confidential rapid HIV testing Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a resource fair Tuesday at Student Health Services, Murray's Place and the LGBT Resource Center on campus.
The Oceanside Public Library will hold a World AIDS Day event at 5 p.m. Monday, with refreshments, live music, HIV testing and resources, flu and hepatitis vaccines, volunteer opportunities, wellness bags, a moment of remembrance, Heart of Hope interactive art, and a display of historic AIDS Memorial Quilt Panels.
Participants will form a heart shape with candles to honor those who have died.
The 34th Annual Tree of Life Ceremony at 6 p.m. Monday will be an evening of remembrance, singing, and a candlelight ceremony hosted by Mama's Kitchen and Village Hillcrest at 3955 Fifth Ave. Proceeds from ornament sales will support nutrition services.
On Friday, the University of San Diego will host "West Coast Kiki People's Choice Awards Ball: Remember the Times" at 5 p.m.
Some events were being held last weekend, including a gala at Rich's nightclub in Hillcrest on Sunday night, and an International HIV Kiss-in Sunday afternoon at Friendship Park along the Mexican border.
The border event was sponsored by MPact Global Action for Gay Men's Health and Rights, a nonprofit founded by an international group of activists concerned about the disproportionate HIV burden being shouldered by gay and bisexual men. It has an office in San Diego.
"MPact's international HIV Kiss-In, or Besoton Sidoso Internacional, is a bold demonstration of the sexuality of queer people living with HIV and the fundamental human rights of queer migrants," MPact spokesperson Alex Garner told City News Service. "It's a fearless political act of visibility and a declaration that our lives have value and meaning. It reminds us that existing is resisting and we can dismantle arbitrary borders of nation, gender, and sexuality."
According to the WHO, in 2024, an estimated 40.8 million people were living with HIV globally, approximately 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes, and an estimated 1.3 million people acquired HIV.
Last week, the U.S. State Department directed employees and grant recipients not to use federal dollars to observe World AIDS Day.
"An awareness day is not a strategy. Under the leadership of President Trump, the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and increase their responsibility and burden sharing," according to a statement from State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott to the New York Times.
