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The United States observed World AIDS Day – the first global day dedicated to a health issue – since its establishment in 1988. From left: President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a World AIDS Day event on the South Lawn of the White House on December 1, 2024. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1 2008 on the North Lawn of the White House.

Annabelle Gordon/Getty Images; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

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Annabelle Gordon/Getty Images; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

The State Department issued a terse statement last week saying that “an awareness day is not a strategy.” Result: on December 1, the United States does not commemorate World AIDS Day. This is the first time the United States has not participated since the World Health Organization established the day in 1988 to commemorate the millions of people who died of AIDS-related illnesses and are recommitting themselves to fighting the epidemic that still claims the lives of more than half a million people each year.

In contrast, last year, former President Joe Biden held a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House with the AIDS Memorial Quilt – with coffin-shaped patches each honoring a person who died of AIDS-related causes – spread out on the grass. And this year, despite the Trump administration’s reversal, countries around the world are marking the day with proclamations, public health campaigns and commemorative ceremonies.

Yesterday and today

President Trump has nothing planned for this year and the State Department has asked its employees not to mark the day.

Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesperson, confirmed the decision not to commemorate the day, writing in a statement that the country is “modernizing our approach to fighting infectious diseases” and that “under President Trump’s leadership, the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and increase their accountability and burden-sharing.”

Some HIV/AIDS activists reacted to the news with frustration – and protests.

“I think it’s emblematic of an administration that doesn’t seem to care,” said Mitchell Warrenexecutive director of AVAC, a US-based global HIV prevention organization

The United States has historically been the largest financier of the global fight against HIV/AIDS, primarily through President George W. Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, which has invested more than 110 billion dollars to the global effort since its launch in 2003.

However, since President Trump’s second term began nearly a year ago, his administration has made major cuts to global health spending and programs, championing an “America First” approach and emphasizing weaning countries off aid. This has disrupted HIV/AIDS care in many parts of the world, including making it difficult for some HIV-positive people to get their medications in places such as Zambiathe Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Kenya, according to UNAIDS.

“Is this a symbolic act? Yes, it is and it symbolizes something really devastating and chaotic,” Warren says.

The United States is not alone in reducing its international aid, as other countries – including France, Germany and the United Kingdom – have reduced their foreign aid as they have changed priorities. THE UNAIDS report On World AIDS Day this year, she warned of “dire consequences”.

Protesters gathered outside the White House on Monday to demand the funding be restored. Asia Russell – executive director of Health GAP, a global HIV advocacy organization – was one of them. She says the decision not to mark the day is reminiscent of the early days of the fight against HIV/AIDS, when the disease was heavily stigmatized and neglected as a public health crisis.

In recent years, medical progress has made it possible to progress in the fight against new HIV/AIDS injections and in putting people already infected on treatment.

“So what’s missing is political will, and that lack of political will was devastating when the White House announced that they would ban commemoration of this pandemic. It’s really depraved and outrageous,” Russell said, adding that there were about 100 other people at the protest.

The decision not to celebrate World AIDS Day is consistent with the administration’s broader approach to the WHO and the United Nations in general. Trump criticized multilateral organizations like the UN and the WHO’s handling of COVID. One of his first actions, on the day of the inauguration, was to launch the process of withdraw the United States from the WHO. However, the Trump administration has marked other UN-designated days, such as World Autism Awareness Day. The White House released a proclamation for this day.

World AIDS Day “only exists on the calendar because of pressure from people living with HIV and their communities fighting against stigma,” says Russell. “A memorial day, as minor as it may seem, is actually vital work to remove this deadly stigma.”