Writes the United Nations<\/a>: \u2018The theme of this year\u2019s World AIDS Day is \u201cCommunities make the difference\u201d. The commemoration of World AIDS Day, which will take place on 1 December 2019, is an important opportunity to recognize the essential role that communities have played and continue to play in the AIDS response at the international, national and local levels.\u00a0Communities contribute to the AIDS response in many different ways. Their leadership and advocacy ensure that the response remains relevant and grounded, keeping people at the centre and leaving no one behind. Communities include peer educators, networks of people living with or affected by HIV, such as gay<\/a> men<\/a> and other men<\/a> who have sex<\/a> with men<\/a>, people who inject drugs and sex<\/a> workers, women<\/a> and young people, counsellors, community health workers, door-to-door service providers, civil society organizations and grass-roots activists. World AIDS Day<\/a> offers an important platform to highlight the role of communities at a time when reduced funding and a shrinking space for civil society are putting the sustainability of services and advocacy efforts in jeopardy. Greater mobilization of communities is urgently required to address the barriers that stop communities delivering services, including restrictions on registration and an absence of social contracting modalities. The strong advocacy role played by communities is needed more than ever to ensure that AIDS remains on the political agenda, that human rights are respected and that decision-makers and implementers are held accountable.\u2019<\/p>\n The DNC blasted Trump\u2019s attacks on AIDS infrastructure: \u201cWorld AIDS Day provides us the opportunity to support those living with HIV, unite in the fight to end the HIV\/AIDS epidemic, and mourn those we\u2019ve lost. Today, we\u2019re thinking about all the progress we\u2019ve made, and the work still before us. This president is no ally of people living with HIV, who are disproportionately LGBTQ and people of color. His administration has proposed cutting global HIV-prevention programs and attacked health care services that people living with HIV rely on, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and Planned Parenthood. Just last month, we saw firsthand just how uninformed and callous the Trump orbit can be through Donald Trump Jr.\u2019s despicable attack on people living with HIV. Democrats are committed to ending the stigma and the epidemic. This year, House Democrats passed bills to lower prescription drug costs and protect access to the health care that those living with HIV deserve. And Democrats fought to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and to ensure it protects against discrimination based on HIV\/AIDS status or perceived status, and of caregivers of people living with this disease. We stand in solidarity with those living with HIV and AIDS in America and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The ACLU urges the decriminalization of sex work<\/a>: \u201cTransgender people are criminalized for our bodies. We are profiled, stereotyped, and presumed guilty based on the way we look or for failing to meet gender expectations, and it must stop. Nearly\u00a0one in six<\/a>\u00a0transgender people has been incarcerated. For trans<\/a> people of color, the number is one in two. It\u2019s staggering, and it demonstrates the deep bias in our current laws and criminal justice system. This World AIDS Day, let\u2019s not forget that transgender women<\/a> \u2014 particularly trans<\/a> women<\/a> of color \u2014 are also\u00a0more likely<\/a>\u00a0to be living with HIV than cisgender people. The fight for trans<\/a> justice cannot be separated from the work to reduce new transmission and provide care to those who are living with HIV, while ending stigma and criminalization for having HIV. To win this fight, we must decriminalize sex<\/a> work.\u201d<\/p>\n And in an op-ed in The Advocate<\/em><\/a>, ACT UP calls<\/a> for education and 21st Century policy and prevention strategies, decriminalization of sex<\/a> work and drug use as public health policy, ending greed and apathy to bring new, effective, novel and accessible treatment, housing, care, and a cure, treating those who are aging with HIV, and more.<\/p>\n Here are some of the messages you need to hear this year which include a CBS This Morning segment on Ruth Coker Burks, and messages from ACT UP, Elton John, Tim Cook, Bill Gates, the UK\u2019s Terrence Higgins Trust, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Brian Sims, and more:<\/p>\n When the AIDS crisis hit in the 1980s, Ruth Coker Burks \u2013 who’d inherited a family cemetery in Hot Springs, Arkansas \u2013 became a mother of sorts to countless sons #WorldAIDSDay<\/a> t.co\/qpdFvIiNRg<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FPrOK9oS5P<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 CBS Sunday Morning (@CBSSunday) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n On #WorldAIDSDay<\/a> we remember the 32 million friends, family and those closest to our hearts lost to AIDS.<\/p>\n Over 27 years ago, I founded @ejaf<\/a> to do everything in my power to improve the lives of everyone living with #HIV<\/a>. That mission continues to this day.<\/p>\n Elton xx pic.twitter.com\/1ws9joA6Ed<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Elton John (@eltonofficial) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n This #WorldAIDSDay<\/a> we mark our 13th year partnering with @RED<\/a> to fight AIDS in Africa. Since 2006, our customers have helped us raise $220M. AIDS-related deaths have fallen by more than half since 2004. Together we can achieve an AIDS-free generation. t.co\/h4wnIDGAmq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Tim Cook (@tim_cook) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n This #WorldAIDSDay<\/a>, I\u2019m excited about breakthroughs in treating and preventing HIV thanks to organizations like the @GlobalFund<\/a>. t.co\/Sm5dUhTR2A<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n On #WorldAIDSDay<\/a> we look back at the huge advances we\u2019ve made in the fight against HIV. <\/p>\n That\u2019s why we\u2019re so proud to have worked with @AttitudeMag<\/a> to tell the story of four decades of the epidemic through the eyes of people who\u2019ve experienced it.pic.twitter.com\/kf91QwKRe1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Terrence Higgins Trust (@THTorguk) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n On #WorldAIDSday<\/a>, we remember those we\u2019ve lost and stand in solidarity with people living with HIV and AIDS, as we recommit to ending the epidemic for good. t.co\/TDlCkTRMZr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Despite the progress and medical advancements, we still have a lot of work to do to end the HIV\/AIDS epidemic. I’ve got a plan to provide more resources to tackle this epidemic and begin publicly manufacturing PrEP in my first 100 days. #WorldAIDSDay<\/a> t.co\/jpcn34BYSb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n There are nearly 40 million people living with HIV around the world. On #WorldAIDSDay<\/a>, it is my commitment to you that we end HIV and AIDS within a generation. It\u2019s on us to improve education, end the stigma, and work together to fight discrimination.<\/p>\n \u2014 Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n KNOW YOUR STATUS: One of the best and easiest ways I can think of to recognize World AIDS Day is to take a few minutes and go get tested! It’s quick, confidential, and has never been easier\u2026#WorldAIDSDay<\/a> #KnowYourStatus<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/7Bhf2mizDL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Brian Sims (@BrianSimsPA) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n I am living. I remember you.<\/p>\n \u2014Marie Howe #WorldAIDSDay<\/a>t.co\/m72iDCB0wN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Poets.org<\/a> (@POETSorg) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n This #WorldAIDSDay<\/a> I want to acknowledge my sexy vibrant awesome positive friends who thrive. I want to push back at the bullshit of stigma. It’s a useless false fear standing in the way of a cure. There is no shame in being HIV positive. Got it? NOW GO LOVE ONE ANOTHER.<\/p>\n \u2014 Darren Hayes (@darrenhayes) December 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The post It\u2019s World AIDS Day. Here are Some of the Messages You Need to Hear in 2019<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s World AIDS Day. Here are Some of the Messages You Need to Hear in 2019 Today, December 1, is World AIDS Day. Writes the United Nations: \u2018The theme of this year\u2019s World AIDS Day is \u201cCommunities make the difference\u201d. The commemoration of World AIDS Day, which will take place on 1 December 2019, is … Continue reading It\u2019s World AIDS Day. Here are Some of the Messages You Need to Hear in 2019<\/span> \n
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