While the Trump administration is declining to commemorate World AIDS Day this year, various events will take place around Los Angeles County to mark Monday’s 38th annual event — including an evening of reflection in West Hollywood, a commemorative event at the Latino community in East Hollywood and various local monuments being illuminated in red.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will mark the 38th annual World AIDS Day by partnering with cities and organizations to illuminate landmarks across the county in red. DPH officials said the color red serves as a way to show solidarity and raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, as part of the annual campaign.
The following landmarks will be illuminated red:
— BMO Stadium;
— Cal State Northridge Library;
— Capitol Records;
— Los Angeles City Hall;
— Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum;
— Los Angeles Union Station;
— Natural History Museum of LA County;
— Paramount Studios Water Tank;
— The Queen Mary;
— The Rose Bowl; and
— Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
“We honor the strength of those living with HIV/AIDS and all who work tirelessly to provide HIV prevention and support for our community,” DPH Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement.
“While recent federal funding reductions present challenges to the essential services needed by individuals living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, we will continue to work with our partners to protect HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, and treatment services for all people who live in Los Angeles County,” Ferrer added.
Approximately 56,000 people with HIV live in L.A. County, and an estimated 1,400 new HIV infections are reported each year, according to DPH.
More cases are seen among gay men, African Americans, Latino and transgender individuals. Latino people with HIV and young people with HIV are disproportionately unaware of their HIV-positive status.
Among women with HIV in L.A. County, a disproportionate number of cases are found among Black and transgender women. DPH encouraged everyone to learn more about HIV, know their status, and, if appropriate, access free and low-cost life-saving medications and services.
More information about HIV and STDs and details about available testing, services and resources are available at getprotecedla.com and the Division of HIV and STD Programs website at publichealth.lacounty.gov/dhsp/EndingTheHIVEpidemic.htm.
DPH works with various partners for outreach, prevention and education on HIV/AIDS. The department also offers resources on community-based HIV/STD testing sites, linkage to care, street-based case management and clinic-based services.
“To advance HIV prevention and care, we need to keep working closely with our community partners and leaders at every level to remove barriers and make essential clinical and social services easier to access,” Sonali Kulkarni, medical director of DPH’s Division of HIV and STD Programs.
“The landmarks lighting red on World AIDS Day reflect that shared commitment and remind us that when we the care and support people rely on are within reach, everyone benefits,” Kulkarni added.
Around L.A County, groups are expected to commemorate World AIDS Day at various events.
The 32nd annual Noche de las Memorias in Lincoln Park will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m and include family testimonials, music, prayer and the unveiling of newly inscribed names at The AIDS Monument during a candlelight ceremony.
The event will highlight “the urgent need to restore HIV testing, prevention and education services after recent federal funding cuts,” organizers said.
In West Hollywood, the first World AIDS Day gathering at STORIES: The AIDS Monument will honor lives lost to AIDS-related illnesses and uplift the voices of those living with HIV and AIDS.
The program beginning at 5:30 p.m. will feature readings by the APLA Health Writers Group.
The monument in West Hollywood Park was unveiled Nov. 16.
A reception will take place at ONE Gallery at 626 N. Robertson Blvd. from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. showcasing the newly opened exhibit, “Herb Ritts: Allies & Icons” — portraits of artists and activists who shaped the fight against AIDS.
The Alliance for Housing & Healing, a program of APLA Health, formerly AIDS Project Los Angeles, will lay flowers Monday on the bronze plaques embedded in the sidewalk along the West Hollywood AIDS Memorial Walk on Santa Monica Boulevard.
The Memorial Walk runs from Crescent Heights Boulevard to Robertson Boulevard. It was created in 1993 to honor people who died in the AIDS pandemic. New plaques are added regularly.
A panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at the West Hollywood Council Chamber at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., beginning Monday and through Dec. 15.
The 33rd UNIDOS by BIENESTAR will honor resilience, celebrate lives and seek to build a future without stigma, organizers said. It will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Ukrainian Cultural Center, 4315 Melrose Ave., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m.
Reservations can be made on Eventbrite. The event was nearing capacity Sunday night.
The event is organized by Bienestar Human Services, a community-based social services organization focusing on identifying and addressing emerging health issues faced by Latino and LGBTQ+ populations. It has centers in East Los Angeles, Hollywood, Long Beach, Pomona, San Fernando Valley, and South Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center and AIDS/LifeCycle will hold a rooftop reception at 6 p.m. at the center’s Anita May Rosenstein Campus Rooftop at 1118 N. McCadden Place.
World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 United Nations World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programs for AIDS Prevention. It is held annually on Dec. 1.
The theme for 2025 is “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” calling for sustained political leadership, international cooperation, and human-rights-centred approaches to end AIDS by 2030.
There were an estimated 40.8 million people living with HIV at the end of 2024, 65% of whom are in Africa, according to the World Health Organization.
An estimated 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes in 2024 an estimated 1.3 million people acquired HIV.
Last week, the U.S. State Department directed employees and grant recipients not to use federal dollars to observe World AIDS Day. This decision marked a change from President Donald Trump’s first term when he commemorated World Aids Day each year.
“An awareness day is not a strategy. Under the leadership of President Trump, the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and increase their responsibility and burden sharing,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement. “Earlier this year, we released a global health strategy aimed at streamlining America’s foreign assistance and modernizing our approach to countering infectious diseases.”
In September, federal authorities released the America First Global Health Strategy, which prioritizes the “interests of Americans and making America safer, stronger and more prosperous,” according to a fact sheet from the State Department.
The department says the strategy builds on the success of past global health programs such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR, among others.
The State Department aims to complete bilateral agreements with recipient countries receiving a vast majority of U.S. health foreign assistance by Dec. 31, with the goal of enacting these agreements by April 2026.
More information on the State Department’s America First Global Health Strategy can be found at www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/09/america-first-global-health-strategy.