Knowing one’s HIV status allows people living with HIV to be on treatment and to live positively. It also offers an opportunity to people that are HIV negative to stay that way through HIV prevention methods. Knowing your status is a claim to one’s right to health; an opportunity to live positively and healthily.

“If people don’t know their HIV status, people who are living with HIV can’t start treatment and people who are HIV negative can’t get the knowledge and skills they need to keep that way,” said Michel Sidibé, in his World AIDS Day message.

This year the World AIDS Day commemorates 30 years of activism and solidarity toward ending AIDS as a public threat in 2030.

In the Eastern and Southern Africa region, 19.6 million people are living with HIV, of which only 15.9 million know their HIV-positive status. This means that millions of people do not know their HIV status and are not accessing HIV treatment and care services.

The UNAIDS #Knowyourstatus campaign is an opportunity to mobilise the public to break the stigma and fear to test for HIV. It is a moment to reach populations that are left behind by the HIV response because they cannot access adequate health care.

It is an opportunity to protect oneself, loved ones and unborn children from HIV by choosing to test for HIV and being on track with a healthy and positive lifestyle – a gateway to an AIDS-free world.

Join the #Knowyourstatus campaign. Visit www.unaids.org for more information and resources.