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On World AIDS Day, Awareness, Testing a Priority

The names of new AIDS victims are being added to a memorial in Los Angeles in preparation for World AIDS Day.
David McNew/Getty Images /
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The names of new AIDS victims are being added to a memorial in Los Angeles in preparation for World AIDS Day.

Today is World AIDS Day, designated by the United Nations to raise awareness about the global AIDS epidemic. The latest estimates indicate that more than 39 million people in the world are now infected with HIV.

In the United States, more than 1 million people are living with the disease, and each year, more than 40,000 people in this country find out they are HIV positive. Until a decade ago, HIV-infection rates were dropping. Experts discuss why the rates are no longer dropping and what can be done.

Brenda Wilson speaks with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Disease, Dr. Ken Mayer, professor of medicine at Brown University, and Phil Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute in Los Angeles.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Brenda Wilson
Brenda Wilson is an award-winning correspondent and editor for NPR on national and international public health. She has developed a consistent body of work, examining the link between human behavior, social conditions, health and disease.