On June 5^th, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of AIDS Research (OAR) joins colleagues around the world to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the landmark CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that first recognized the syndrome of diseases later renamed as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). June 5^th also marks HIV Long-term Survivors Awareness Day.

Forty years ago, on June 5, 1981, the MMWR reported five persons with confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in Los Angeles, California, who also had previous or current cytomegalovirus infection and candida mucosal infection. This report catalyzed a global effort that led to the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Over these past 40 years, much of the progress to guide the response to HIV has emerged from research funded by the NIH – and helped turn a once-fatal disease into the manageable chronic illness that it is today.

OAR is conducting a communications campaign that will continue through World AIDS Day on December 1, 2021, to recognize the milestones achieved through science and pay tribute to more than 32 million people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses globally (including 700,000 Americans), and support the goal of Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) and worldwide.

You can play a role in these efforts to raise awareness and spread the word. Use the resources in this 40^th anniversary toolkit and tag #40YearsOfHIV when you share the posts and images in your social media.

Please visit Reflect, Recommit, Reenergize, Reengage – Four for Forty to read NIH’s statement to mark this landmark milestone.