• Take the POZ World AIDS Day Quiz

    How much do you know about the annual HIV awareness day? 
  • Answer: The first World AIDS Day took place in 1988. 

  • Answer: False. World Health Organization employees James W. Bunn and Thomas Netter conceived of the worldwide observance for those who have died of AIDS-related causes and those living with or affected by HIV

  • Answer: The Red Ribbon Project was created by the Visual AIDS Artists’ Caucus.

  • Answer: The 2001 theme was "I Care. Do You?" Click here for a list of World AIDS Day themes by year. 

  • Answer: In 2007, President George W. Bush began the annual tradition of displaying a giant red ribbon at the White House to recognize World AIDS Day. 

  • Answer: True. President Bill Clinton became the first president of the United States to make an official proclamation in 1993. Every U.S. president has made a World AIDS Day proclamation each year since.

  • Answer: United Colors of 
Benetton employees worked with ACT UP Paris to install the 72-foot pink nylon condom.

  • Answer: Thailand set a world record in 2006 for a condom chain that was 2,715 meters (about 8,907 feet) long. It didn’t hold the title for long, though. Romania beat Thailand’s record in 2007 with a condom chain that measured 3,300 meters (10,827 feet).

  • Answer: 1994. World AIDS Day was observed at the National AIDS Memorial Grove for the first time in 1994. In 1996, the U.S. Congress designated the site as an official national memorial of the United States.

  • Answer: 2016. Created as a tribute to the over 100,000 New Yorkers who have died of AIDS-related illness, the New York City AIDS Memorial was unveiled on World AIDS Day, 2016.

  • Answer: Rihanna took an HIV test along with Prince Harry in Barbados to raise awareness and encourage HIV testing.

  • Answer: Bagels. Dozens of outraged activists dressed as bagels to protest Bloomberg’s funding cuts to organizations that support people living with HIV/AIDS.

  • Click here to learn more about World AIDS Day.

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