The 2010 World AIDS Day commemorations will be held in the Palapye Sub-district on December 1.

The commemoration marks the beginning of a 12-month campaign which will provide Palapye sub-district with a platform to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and to draw attention to critical gaps that need to be addressed in order to achieve universal access to HIV and AIDS services.

Having a high HIV prevalence rate of 20% and on-going multi-mega development projects, the Palapye sub-district provides an excellent environment for HIV transmission, calling for urgent attention to stem the tide against new infections in order to achieve the national vision of 'zero new infections by 2016.'

The goal of the World AIDS Campaign is to ensure that governments and policy makers meet the targets they set, the commitments they made and mobilize necessary resources for everyone to have non-discriminatory and non-judgmental access to comprehensive HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.  

The commemoration is recognized and observed by millions of people around the globe to introspect and mobilize support for people living with HIV and AIDS.

The theme for the campaign is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. The theme was chosen to address the critical need to protect human rights and attain access to HIV services. It also acts as a call to countries to remove laws that discriminate against people living with HIV, women and marginalized groups.