HIV-AIDS Awareness on International Youth Day | 13 Aug 2025

Why in News? 

On International Youth Day (12th Aug 2025), the Rajasthan State AIDS Control Society organized a state-level program in Jaipur, launching an intensified Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaign to promote HIV-AIDS awareness among youth across the state.  

International Youth Day (IYD) 

  • Established by: UN General Assembly in 1999 
    • Initial Proposal: 1991 by young participants at World Youth Forum, Vienna 
    • Official Resolution: World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, Lisbon (1998) 
  • First Celebrated: 12th August 2000 
  • 2025 Theme: "Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond" 
    • With over 65% of SDG targets linked to local governance, youth engagement is a necessity. 
  • Objectives: 
    • Draw attention to youth issues worldwide 
    • Promote youth engagement in sustainable development 
    • Celebrate youth contributions to society. 

AIDS 

  • AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening condition caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which attacks the immune system, targeting CD4 cells (white blood cells, vital for the immune system).  
    • It spreads through unprotected sex, infected blood, and sharing needles.  
    • While there is no cure, antiretroviral therapy (ART) can suppress the virus and help restore CD4 cells.  
  • The Global AIDS Update 2023 highlights a decline in new infections, aiming to eliminate AIDS by 2030.  
    • In India, over 2.5 million people live with HIV, with a 44% reduction in new infections since 2010.

National Youth Day 

  • India celebrates the National Youth Day, on 12th January every year on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary. 
    • Since 1984, the nation has marked the day by urging the youth to live up to the values, principles and beliefs that Vivekananda embraced. 
    • Swami Vivekananda's born on 12th January 1863, Kolkata. 
  • Swami Vivekananda is considered one of the great Indian monks who enlightened the Western world about Hinduism. 
    • As a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, he pushed for national integration in colonial India and is credited with reviving Hinduism in the nation.