Today is World AIDS Day, a day to unite and show support for individuals living with HIV and remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS. The date of December 1 was recommended by Jim Bunn, a former television broadcast journalist from San Francisco, with the first World AIDS Day being celebrated in 1988.  

The UN Secretary-General's message to the world on World AIDS DAY is that we can--and must--end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. AIDS-related deaths have fallen by almost 70 per cent since their peak in 2004, and new HIV infections are at the lowest point since the 1980s.

The UPEI Health and Wellness Centre is working with the "I'm Ready" campaign to assist individuals to participate in free and confidential testing for HIV in their own homes. Go to https://www.readytoknow.ca/ready-get-a-kit/im-ready-test-app/ to register and learn more. Once you are registered, the kits can be picked up at the UPEI Health and Wellness Centre, 2nd floor North, W.A. Murphy Student Centre.