December 1: World AIDS Day

Indonesian medical students light candles during a vigil commemorating World AIDS day in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
Indonesian medical students light candles during a vigil commemorating World AIDS day in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

World AIDS Day, first recognized in 1988, was the first ever global health day. As of 2012, approximately 35 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS, the majority in sub-Saharan Africa. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has caused nearly 40 million deaths globally since cases were first reported in 1981. The virus is transmitted through sexual contact, exposure to infected body fluids, and from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. While there are antiretroviral therapies to help control virus levels in HIV-positive people, over one million people around the world still die from the disease every year.