• Posted December 3, 2025

U.S. Skips World AIDS Day for the First Time in 37 Years

For the first time in more than three decades, the United States did not take part in World AIDS Day on December 1, a major change from past years when the day was used to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and honor the millions of people lost to the disease.

World AIDS Day has been observed globally since 1988. Around the world, 39.9 million people are living with HIV, including about 1.2 million in the United States. U.S. health officials also report that 13% of people with HIV don’t know they have it, which continues to fuel new infections.

The day was originally created by the World Health Organization (WHO). The United States withdrew from the agency earlier this year under the Trump administration, although World AIDS Day is now recognized by many other health organizations and communities worldwide.

Instead of participating, U.S. officials said they are shifting their focus to a new global health approach, CNN reported.

"An awareness day is not a strategy," State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

He added that "the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and increase their responsibility and burden sharing."

A senior administration official emphasized that the United States will continue HIV/AIDS work through both the new strategy and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the long-running program first launched under President George W. Bush. PEPFAR has been credited with saving millions of lives.

Still, many public health experts worry that the new “America First Global Health Strategy” may weaken HIV/AIDS programs around the world.

They warn that foreign aid cuts and recent changes at the U.S. Agency for International Development could strain public health systems that are already struggling.

Dr. Anna Person, chair of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s HIV Medicine Association, told CNN that the “efforts to unravel our country’s HIV response” are concerning.

“Erasing HIV from the federal budget will not make the deadly virus go away but will reverse the progress made toward ending the HIV epidemic,” she explained. “Without continued research and support for HIV prevention, surveillance and services, new HIV transmissions and health care expenditures will climb, and people will die.”

There are several ways individuals can get involved in World Aids Day.

More information

The World Health Organization has more on World AIDS Day.

SOURCE: CNN, Dec. 2, 2025