This year's World AIDS Day theme is Communities make the difference .

The celebration of World AIDS Day, which will take place on December 1, 2019, provides an important opportunity to recognize the critical role that communities have played and continue to play in the AIDS response at the local, national, and international levels. 

Communities contribute to the AIDS response in many different ways. Their leadership and advocacy help ensure that the response remains relevant and grounded, that people remain at the center, and that no one is left behind. These communities include peer educators, networks of people living with or affected by HIV, such as gay and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs and sex workers, women and young people, counselors, community health workers, door-to-door service providers, civil society organizations, and grassroots activists.

He World AIDS Day It offers an important platform from which to highlight the role of communities at a time when reduced funding and shrinking space for civil society threaten the sustainability of services and advocacy efforts. Communities need to mobilize much more, and as soon as possible, to dismantle the barriers preventing community service providers from accessing services, including registration restrictions and the lack of social contract models. Strong community-led advocacy is needed now more than ever to ensure that AIDS remains on the political agenda, that human rights are respected, and that policymakers and policymakers are held accountable.