At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Naz’s medical director Dr Vanessa Apea conceptualised the idea for a campaign dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding HIV globally. Launched in 2023, Naz led the campaign in partnership with the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), reaching over a million people worldwide. This year, Naz is determined not to lose the momentum we’ve gained and encourages everyone to take action against stigma wherever they see it.

We cannot lose the momentum we have made in the global response to HIV. Zero HIV Stigma Day, observed on July 21st, is the grassroots campaign that mobilises and unites people, organisations, and entire countries across the world to raise awareness and take action against HIV stigma, the primary accelerant of HIV transmissions and related inequalities.

No other 20th-century disease area like HIV has evoked such persistent and damaging stigma at both an institutional and individual level. In an era marked by division, we cannot lose sight of our collective vision for a healthy and equitable world that is free of HIV-related stigma and inequality.