Join the World AIDS Day prayer vigil on the first of December.
The following article was published in the November-December 2024 issue of NewsNotes.
World AIDS Day is held on December 1 each year around the world. It is an opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have died, and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention service.
Data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveals that overall funding for HIV dropped 7.9% between 2020 and 2023, and 5% from 2022 to 2023 alone.
The report states, “Funding [of $19.8bn]is far short of the $29.3bn which will be required for the AIDS response in low- and middle-income countries, including countries formerly considered to be upper-income countries, in 2025 to get on track to end AIDS as a public health threat.”
Meanwhile, nearly 40 million people are living with HIV as of 2023, with 1.3 million new cases and 630,000 deaths in 2023. Since the start of the pandemic, 42.3 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses.
It is no surprise, then that the theme for World AIDS Day 2024 is “Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress” which in an importaant reminder that we must remain stalwart in our efforts for an HIV-free generation.
Faith in action
Learn more about World AIDS Day www.worldaidsday.org/
Join the World AIDS Day prayer vigil on December 1: Sign up for an hour timeslot during the 24-hour vigil https://mogc.info/AIDSDayVigil2024
Maryknoll AIDS Day Prayer
God of all compassion,
Comfort your sons and daughters
Who live with HIV.
Spread over us all your quilt of mercy,
Love and peace.
Open our eyes to your presence
Reflected in their faces.
Open our ears to your truth
Echoing in their hearts.
Give us the strength
To weep with the grieving,
To walk with the lonely,
To stand with the depressed.
May our love mirror your love
For those who live in fear,
Who live under stress and
Who suffer rejection.
Mothering, fathering God
Grant rest to those who have died
And hope to all who live with HIV.
God of life, help us to find the cure now
And help us to build a world in which
No one dies alone and where
Everyone lives accepted
Wanted and loved.
Amen.