\n The United States is not commemorating World AIDS Day this year as it has done for decades in the past.\n <\/p>\n
\n The commemoration has been marked every December 1 since 1988. The day is meant to raise awareness of efforts to fight the deadly disease and remember those died from it.\n <\/p>\n
\n Globally, about 39.9 million people are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, including about 1.2 million people in the United States. In the US, about 13% of people who have HIV don\u2019t know it \u2014 one driver of the virus\u2019 continued spread.\n <\/p>\n
\n Observance of the day was started by the World Health Organization, from which the Trump administration withdrew this year. However, it has expanded beyond WHO to organizations and communities around the world.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cAn awareness day is not a strategy. Under the leadership of President Trump, the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and increase their responsibility and burden sharing,\u201d State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement. \u201cEarlier this year, we released a global health strategy aimed at streamlining America\u2019s foreign assistance and modernizing our approach to countering infectious diseases.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n A US senior administration official stressed that the US would continue its work to combat HIV\/AIDS, both through the new global health strategy<\/a> and through the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The latter, which was started under President George W. Bush, has saved millions of lives.\n <\/p>\n