AIDS Epidemic

The AIDS Epidemic is the global spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, first identified in the early 1980s. The World Health Organization estimates about 40 million people have died from HIV-related causes, with the deadliest years falling before effective treatment existed. For LGBTQ+ communities, especially gay and bisexual men, the early epidemic was catastrophic and politically charged, met at first with government silence and social hostility. Community-led responses pioneered safer-sex education, harm reduction, and patient advocacy that changed how the world confronts disease. Today antiretroviral therapy lets people with HIV live long, healthy lives, and prevention tools like PrEP exist, yet HIV remains a serious global health and equity issue.