International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Day 2021

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, held on the third Sunday of May every year.

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is a time for all of us to remember the many lives lost to AIDS. It is an opportunity to honour those who dedicated their lives to helping people living with and affected by HIV and continue to mobilise our communities in solidarity.

People living with HIV started the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial in 1983 and since then there have been thousands of events organized across the world by community-based organisations, from motorbike rallies by women living with HIV to uplifting ceremonies in places of worship and workplaces. Such events have helped raise awareness about HIV and more importantly have helped break down stigma within our communities.

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is also a campaign to mobilise communities and raise social consciousness about HIV and AIDS. With almost 38 million people living with HIV today, the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial serves as an important platform for global solidarity, breaking down barriers of stigma and discrimination, and giving hope to new generations.

Recommended readings

• Ending AIDS Together !! International AIDS Candlelight Memorial 2017
• Candlelight Memorial 2019: Intensifying the fight for Health and Rights!
• Candlelight Memorial 2016: Engage, Educate, Empower! (Event of the Week)
• National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC)
• UNAIDS calls on countries to step up global action and proposes bold new HIV targets for 2025
• UNAIDS calls on countries to step up global action and proposes bold new HIV targets for 2025
• HIV Standard Service Package (SSP) For Key Populations
• HIV Epidemic Update of Nepal (Fact sheet 2020)
• UNAIDS calls on countries to step up global action and proposes bold new HIV targets for 2025
• The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Data 2019
• Interim Guidance for Continuing HIV Program Service Delivery During COVID-19 Pandemic
• Interim Guideline for Malaria Program During COVID-19 in Nepal (Updated)