Each year, on December 1, people around the world join to acknowledge World AIDS Day and to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.  This year the theme for World AIDS Day is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.”  As we commemorate the 20th World AIDS Day, the theme of stopping the disease is as important today as it was 20 years ago.

The sobering statistics tell us why action is so very vital.  While the estimates of those living with HIV/AIDS has been lowered, it is still believed that about 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, including more than 2 million children.  Last year, an estimated 2.5 million people became newly infected.  About half of the new infections were among people aged 25 or younger who will die before they reach the age of 35.  And while about 95 percent of people with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations, HIV/AIDS is a health risk in every nation, including here in the United States. 

You can count on me to continue to work to stop AIDS and keep the promise.  I am working on several bills to reduce the infection rates and increase the level of education about HIV/AIDS, both in this country and worldwide.  I am also working to reduce the mother-to-child transmission of the virus.  Currently less than 10 percent of pregnant women living with HIV in the developing world are provided with drugs to prevent the virus being transmitted to their babies.  We can and must do better to prevent children from acquiring the disease.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator