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Busan Metropolitan City Hosts World AIDS Day Campaign to Promote Prevention and Reduce Stigma

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that, in celebration of the 38th World AIDS Day (December 1), it will conduct intensive outreach activities for AIDS Prevention Week (December 1–7) and will hold a campaign at 3 p.m. on December 1 at Busan Metro Yeonsan Station.

This campaign aims to enhance awareness of AIDS prevention, eliminate discrimination and prejudice against people living with HIV, and provide accurate information about AIDS.

World AIDS Day

• ●Established by the United Nations (UN) following the adoption of the London Declaration at the 1988 World Health Ministers’ Conference, joined by 148 countries, highlighting information-sharing, education, advocacy, and human rights in AIDS prevention

The campaign will include the distribution of AIDS prevention promotional materials, banner exhibitions, and other infectious disease–related outreach activities.

Approximately 100 individuals will participate, including representatives from the city’s Infectious Disease Control Division, 16 district and county public health centers, an HIV shelter, Yeonil Police District Unit, and nursing students.

In addition, to mark AIDS Prevention Week, the city will collaborate with the 16 district and county public health centers and related institutions to provide accurate information on AIDS and to carry out online and offline outreach promoting the importance of prevention and management.

The city is pursuing early detection, expanded treatment and support, and diverse educational and publicity programs to improve prevention, management, and public awareness of HIV* and AIDS**.

• ●Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): A virus present in significant quantities in body fluids—especially blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk—that destroys immune cells.
  ** Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS): A condition in which immune function is severely weakened due to immune cell destruction caused by HIV infection.

Each year, AIDS prevention education is provided to middle and high school students, out-of-school youth, community child center users, senior citizens, and others, with approximately 16,000 individuals educated this year.

District and county public health centers conduct year-round consultations for early detection, providing about 20,000 tests this year. Newly identified individuals are linked to medical institutions for treatment and receive support for medical expenses, helping them return to healthy daily life.

If HIV infection is suspected, it is recommended to undergo testing approximately four weeks after the suspected exposure. Free testing is available at the 16 district and county public health centers in Busan.

Anonymous testing is also available without providing personal information such as name, resident registration number, or address.

Furthermore, as 99 percent of HIV transmission occurs through sexual contact, avoiding risky sexual behavior is the most reliable preventive measure.

HIV is not transmitted through everyday contact, and individuals living with HIV who take medication consistently can reach an undetectable viral load, meaning they do not transmit the virus to others.

Cho Gyu-yul, Director General of the Citizens’ Health Bureau, stated, “Early detection and timely treatment are the most crucial factors in addressing AIDS,” adding, “We hope that this campaign and Prevention Week will serve as an opportunity for the public to understand AIDS properly rather than view it with vague fear, and to reduce discrimination and prejudice against people living with HIV.”