World AIDS Day is more than remembrance

—it’s a call to action. For Lochaber Pride, it’s a moment to connect our local community to a global struggle, honour those lost, and reaffirm our commitment to inclusion, health, and dignity.

What World AIDS Day Represents

• Observed annually on December 1st, World AIDS Day was first marked in 1988 by the World Health Organisation. It remains one of the eight official global public health campaigns.

• The 2025 theme is “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response”, highlighting the urgent need to rebuild HIV services disrupted by funding cuts, stigma, and punitive laws.

• Globally, 40.8 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2024, with 1.3 million new infections and 630,000 AIDS-related deaths that year.

• Advances such as PrEP, long-acting ART injections, and U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) have transformed HIV into a manageable condition—but only if access is equitable.

Why It Matters to Pride

World AIDS Day is inseparable from LGBTQ+ history. In the 1980s and 90s, HIV/AIDS disproportionately affected gay and bisexual men, trans people, and communities of colour. Silence and stigma compounded the crisis, but LGBTQ+ communities responded with mutual aid, activism, and visibility.

• Solidarity forged in crisis: Lesbians cared for gay men when hospitals and families turned them away. Activists demanded research, funding, and dignity.

• The red ribbon became a universal symbol of remembrance and resistance, much like the rainbow flag for Pride.

• Today, LGBTQ+ organisations continue to lead HIV awareness, prevention, and support efforts, ensuring younger generations understand this legacy.

Lochaber Pride’s Connection

For Lochaber Pride, World AIDS Day is not just about history—it’s about local relevance and responsibility:

• Education for youth: Many young people know little about the AIDS crisis. Pride events can bridge that gap, connecting Highland communities to global narratives of resilience.

• Breaking stigma in rural areas: In smaller communities, silence can be louder. Pride offers a platform to challenge myths—reminding people that HIV does not spread through casual contact, and that treatment makes transmission impossible.

• Community solidarity: Just as Pride celebrates visibility, World AIDS Day insists that no one should be invisible in their health struggles. Both movements affirm dignity, compassion, and collective strength.

• Local remembrance: Even in Lochaber, families and friends were touched by the epidemic. Honouring those lives connects our Highland story to the wider LGBTQ+ struggle.

Moving Forward Together

World AIDS Day reminds us that ending HIV by 2030 is possible—but only if communities like ours stay engaged

. For Lochaber Pride, that means:

• Hosting talks and memorials alongside festive Pride events.

• Partnering with health organisations to promote testing and PrEP access.

• Ensuring our advocacy includes those living with HIV today, not just those lost yesterday.

In Lochaber, Pride is about visibility, solidarity, and joy. On World AIDS Day, those values take on deeper meaning: we remember, we educate, and we act. The red ribbon and the rainbow flag belong together—symbols of resilience, hope, and the promise that no one will be left behind.