World AIDS Day 2025: Solidarity, Care, and the launch of our Winter Appeal
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December 1 is World AIDS Day—a time to come together, stand with people living with HIV, and honour the millions of lives lost.
First marked in 1988, World AIDS Day continues to raise awareness of HIV. Thanks to medical progress, HIV can be treated effectively, enabling people to live long, healthy lives - even as stigma persists.
On 22 November, Team Mildmay took part in World AIDS Day RED RUN, joining thousands who braved the cold and rain. Our runners, volunteers, and supporters did brilliantly, raising over £1,300 towards the event’s £216,500 total, supporting 31 charities across the HIV sector. It was a day of determination and solidarity, and a reminder that community action moves us closer to an HIV‑free future.
This year’s UNAIDS World AIDS Day report, Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response, published on 25 November 2025, warns that abrupt funding cuts are disrupting HIV prevention - especially for those most at risk. External health assistance is projected to fall by 30–40% compared with 2023, deepening gaps in PrEP, HIV testing and community support.
In 2024, the global picture remained critical:
40.8 million people were living with HIV.
1.3 million people acquired HIV.
630,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses.
Despite progress, 9.2 million people were still not accessing treatment, and young women and girls faced 570 new infections every day., and young women and girls faced 570 new infections every day.
Yet there are signs of resilience. Some countries have maintained or even increased antiretroviral therapy initiations, and long‑acting prevention options (including twice‑yearly injections) are scaling with new partnerships aiming for affordable generics at around US$40 per person per year. UNAIDS calls for renewed solidarity, sustained funding, innovation (including lenacapavir), and protection of human rights to stay on track to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
At Mildmay, we see both the gains and the gaps. We care for people facing stigma and complex needs - HIV‑Associated Neurocognitive Disorders, homelessness, and mental health challenges. We deliver specialist clinical care with neurorehabilitation, social support and chaplaincy, because dignity and recovery go hand in hand.
A New Chapter: Mildmay Uganda 2026
In line with UNAIDS’ call for integrated, community‑centred services, Mildmay is entering a new chapter of international partnership. Building on decades of specialist HIV care and community health, we are working with Mildmay Uganda and local partners such as the British High Commission and the Ugandan Ministry of Health to expand access to integrated services in regions of greatest need—bringing diagnostics, palliative care, and disability support closer to home for families who’ve waited too long for help. We look forward to sharing more as this programme gets underway in 2026.
Launching our Winter 2025/26 Appeal
Running a modern specialist hospital costs at least £12,000 per day. Around 90% is covered by NHS contracts; the remainder depends entirely on charitable giving. Every penny benefits the people we serve.
Chaplaincy: help us raise £10,000
Hospital chaplaincy is a quiet constant - at the bedside in moments of crisis, helping patients and families make sense of fear, loss, and change. It provides spiritual and pastoral care for people of all faiths and none.
This Christmas, we’re setting a dedicated £10,000 goal to safeguard chaplaincy for the year ahead - supporting patient visits, memorials, and bereavement support. Your gift will ensure that we can fund our chaplain’s salary and keep this gentle, essential presence available to everyone who needs it.
£20,000 for patient support and core running costs:
Our specialist work - rehabilitation for people living with HIV, neurocognitive care, post-detox stabilisation, and complex care for people experiencing homelessness - depends on a steady foundation. This fund covers the essentials that keep a modern hospital safe and open: skilled teams, rehabilitation supplies, transport for outreach, emergency support for patients in crisis, and nutritious food.
Even a modest gift helps someone in crisis find stability. It keeps wards staffed and therapies running. It is the bedrock of everything we do.
The "Stretch" Goal: Education Exchange (Ed Ex):
This summer, we launched our Education Exchange Programme appeal. Thanks to early gifts, we’ve raised an impressive £28,000! With your Christmas support, we aim to reach the full £60,000 to fund forty placements for UK clinicians to serve at Mildmay Uganda Hospital.
Any funds we raise above our initial £30,000 target will go directly towards this programme.
Why this matters: Placements build rare, practical expertise - resilience, adaptability, and leadership - that clinicians bring home to the NHS. It’s a true exchange: strengthening care in Uganda while directly improving care in the UK.
What your gift can do for Ed Ex:
£50 covers in-country transport so clinicians can reach patients in rural areas.
£500 provides vital medical supplies and supports community outreach, potentially reaching thousands.
£3,000 covers the entire cost of placements for two clinicians.
Find out more about our Education Exchange Programme here.
How can you help this World AIDS Day?
Donate - and if you’re a UK taxpayer, tick Gift Aid to increase your impact.
Wear a red ribbon;
Share accurate information (including U=U, PrEP, PEP).
Speak up against stigma and support human rights - services only work when people can access them safely and without fear.
