Colombia joins the world every Dec. 1 in commemorating World AIDS Day 2025, a day aimed at raising awareness about the HIV/AIDS situation and promoting prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and the reduction of stigma toward people living with the virus.
Although current antiretroviral treatments have for years prevented the infection from progressing to AIDS, avoiding many deaths, the observance of this day remains a turning point for raising awareness — especially among young people — to avoid risky behaviors and to get tested to enable early diagnosis, which is key to effectively controlling the virus.
Beyond remembering the people who died from this disease, the day also serves to assess how far — or how close — we are from controlling a pandemic that has posed a global public health challenge for decades.
World AIDS Day: About 240,000 people are living with the virus in Colombia
HIV/AIDS has gone through different stages in Colombia. In its early years it generated alarm: a deadly, rapid, and stigmatized infection. Over time, antiretroviral therapies and advances in public health transformed what was once a death sentence into a treatable chronic disease.
The Colombian health system has progressively expanded access to diagnosis and treatment, integrating the response to HIV into its health policies and extending coverage to vulnerable populations. Today, the South American country has full and free coverage — funded by the state — to supply antiretrovirals to 100% of the population that needs them.
But the story is not only one of medical progress; it has also been one of social struggles. For years, marginalization, discrimination, and misinformation have prevented many people from getting tested, seeking help, or accessing treatment. Over time, community organizations, struggles for the recognition of rights, sex education, and public campaigns have helped shift that narrative. However, taboos persist, making stigma one of the greatest enemies of prevention.
The international reference for Dec. 1 — established by global organizations since the late 1980s — has been replicated in Colombia since its earliest collective response efforts. More than a symbolic date, this day serves as an annual reminder that the epidemic continues and that policies, medical care, education, solidarity, and epidemiological surveillance must remain active.
In 2025, the commemoration comes at a time when the most recent data show significant changes in the dynamics of the virus in the country. Thus, World AIDS Day becomes an opportunity to put on the table the successes, what still needs to be achieved in health matters, but also in social terms.
A recent snapshot: HIV figures in Colombia
The recent HIV landscape in Colombia reflects a combination of advances in diagnosis and the persistence of the epidemic. According to the latest report from Cuenta de Alto Costo (CAC), as of Oct. 31, 2025, there are 211,431 people diagnosed with HIV in the country. To all this is added an undiagnosed number of cases that, according to projections, would raise infections to 240,000 people.
During 2024, the reported prevalent cases reached 185,954. That year, 14,555 new (incident) cases were documented, of which 82.82% corresponded to men and 17.18% to women.
The demographic profile shows a concentration in young and adult populations: the median age usually falls between 25 and 39 years, and men represent a significant majority. Geographically, the Central region of the country concentrates the largest share of cases, closely followed by Bogotá, with relevant participation from the Caribbean, Pacific, Eastern, and Amazon-Orinoquia regions.
These data show, on the one hand, that the virus continues to circulate intensely, and on the other, that screening strategies — that is, detection — are yielding results: Part of the increase in reported cases is due to better test coverage and diagnosis, after the drop in detections the country experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Progress, challenges, and the urgency of prevention
The fact that today all people with HIV in Colombia can access antiretroviral treatment, live with dignity, and often achieve an undetectable viral load — which prevents transmission — is a remarkable achievement. But recent data show that the pandemic is not yet under control.
The number of diagnosed people continues to rise, which means that more people are living with the virus, some with late diagnoses, others facing barriers to accessing treatment or maintaining it. In addition, studies point to the particular vulnerability of younger populations, a social segment that appears to have lost its fear of the disease and continues to engage in high-risk sexual practices, including multiple infections.
A persistent challenge is reaching those who still do not know their diagnosis. Prevention campaigns must be renewed with a focus on young people, vulnerable populations, and areas with lower coverage. It is essential to promote condom use, expand the availability of testing — including self-testing when legal and safe — and ensure continuity of treatment. Addressing discrimination is also crucial, as stigma remains a barrier to seeking care.
Finally, mother-to-child transmission and equitable access for pregnant people, trans people, the LGBTIQ+ community, Afro-descendant populations, Indigenous peoples, migrants, and those living in remote areas remain key challenges. Comprehensive care — including sexual health, mental health, clear information, structural prevention, and rights advocacy — is essential.
The long fight against AIDS in Colombia and around the world
As Colombia marks World AIDS Day once again this Dec. 1, it has reasons to reflect. There are clear advances: more diagnoses, available treatment, better therapies, and coverage in many regions. But these successes should not lead to complacency. Recent figures show that the pandemic is still alive, that many people still do not know they carry the virus, and that prevention requires constant renewal.
This day should serve to renew the social commitment to people living with HIV, to recognize their rights, fight stigma, promote empathy, and guarantee universal access to testing, treatments, and medical and psychosocial support.
The global goal — to stop HIV as a public health threat by 2030 — seems today somewhat further away, despite progress. The virus’s high mutability casts doubt on that date, but public policies in Colombia remain the main barrier preventing an HIV infection from becoming a death sentence.
At the same time, sex education, the dismantling of stigma, and common sense should row in the same direction to finally defeat the advance of a disease that refuses to disappear.