South of the border, the State Department has announced it will not be recognizing World AIDS Day, marking the end of years of publicly recognizing the occasion…
The State Department has announced that it will end its decades-long tradition of public messaging for World AIDS Day, which takes place annually on December 1.
The New York Times broke the news that the State Department has instructed employees to not use federal funding for commemorative activities – a departure from the tradition dating back to 1993, when President Bill Clinton first issued a Presidential Proclamation for World AIDS Day.
That includes refraining from “publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches, or other public-facing messaging,” according to an email seen by NYT and the Substack “To End a Plague… Again.”
Employees are reportedly still permitted to attend external, locally organized World AIDS Day events but they may not speak at the events or promote their attendance online, the email added.
In a statement to the New York Times, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, “An awareness day is not a strategy. Under the leadership of President Trump, the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and increase their responsibility and burden sharing.”
The change comes as President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a global HIV/AIDS initiative which helps people living with HIV to manage the virus, has faced funding cutbacks, with more reductions proposed by Trump’s administration.
Since 1988, World AIDS Day has been recognized internationally as a day to raise awareness for the ongoing AIDS pandemic and mourn those who have died throughout the years.
Though former U.S. President Ronald Reagan was the first to publicly mention AIDS in a 1985 speech, former President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to mark the day with a presidential proclamation in 1993.
It is still unclear whether Donald Trump will make a presidential proclamation for World AIDS Day on Monday, December 1, 2025, but it seems unlikely.
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