World AIDS Day: Sand artist creates amazing artwork to spread awareness

Sand artist Subal Moharana created a sculpture at a beach in Bhubaneswar, Odisha to spread awareness and celebrate World AIDS Day 2020. Moharana's amazing artwork featured a globe with red ribbons around it and a slogan beneath that read, "Global solidarity, shared responsibility". Red-coloured ribbon is the universal symbol for HIV-AIDS. Moharana, while speaking to ANI, said that with his artwork he wanted to spread awareness about the disease, especially to the younger generation. 

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"People across the world are suffering from AIDS. I have made this sculpture to spread awareness. I hope that the world will soon be free of this disease. It is the collective responsibility of the whole world, especially the young generation, to reduce its spread," Moharana was quoted as saying by ANI.

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Why is World AIDS Day significant?

According to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) data until 2019, there were 38 million people worldwide living with HIV, of which 1.7 million people contracted the disease in 2019 itself. Over 6,90,000 people died of the disease in 2019. WHO says more than 12 million people living with HIV still do not have access to treatment, while those who have access, are facing challenges due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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World AIDS Day is celebrated every year on December 1 in a bid to spread awareness about AIDS and to stand in solidarity with those who have either lost their lives or are living with the disease. It is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). World AIDS Day was founded by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1988 and is observed in all member states of the United Nations (UN).  

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