Today is World AIDS Day. Take a moment to remember that someone becomes infected with HIV every 12 seconds, about half of them under age 25. Every 16 seconds someone dies from AIDS-related causes. Thirty-one years into the epidemic, more than 34 million people around the world are living with HIV and many of these people are not aware they are infected.

Here in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a new report showing that “only one in four Americans with AIDS has the virus under control.”

The American Red Cross has been a key player in the fight against HIV globally for almost a decade and we continue to support comprehensive HIV prevention programs that reach people with the highest risk of contracting the disease in Kenya, Tanzania, Vietnam, China, Guyana, Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. A large part of our work focuses on building the capacity of our sister Red Cross societies. We help them better target the services, as they help communities cope with the shock and stresses of the disaster that is the ongoing HIV epidemic. For more information, visit www.redcross.org/international

Please also check out this fact sheet on specific ways we’re involved in the fight: http://www.redcross.org/www-files/Documents/International%20Services/Fact_Sheet_HIVAIDS.pdf

Graphic courtesy of globalministries.org