With World Aids Day fast approaching, Tom Doyle from Yorkshire MESMAC considers whether this annual event has lost its way.

Consider the following three points: gay men are the largest group affected by HIV in the UK; there was a record number of gay men infected with HIV last year; more gay men in the UK than ever before are living with HIV.

December 1st is World Aids Day. There is bound to be many a rattling of charity tins, selling of cakes, guessing the names of teddies and auctioning of fizzy wine. No doubt lgbt people and the gay scene will be some of the most generous contributors. Strange, then, that there has never been a World Aids Day that focuses on gay men. But maybe raising money for rather than from gay men is just that bit more difficult?

Don’t get me wrong: all this fundraising is an important activity. It’s important to give what you can to HIV charities - they need to be supported when they do good work.

But is World AIDS Day the best time to do this? Wouldn’t it be better not to use it as a cash generating opportunity and focus on what it is really about - an international day of activism and solidarity?

To see how far we have strayed from these values you just need to turn to The National Aids Trust’s web-site, which boldly states. ‘This year in the UK, World AIDS Day is about wearing the Red Ribbon, as a sign of support for people living with HIV and a symbol of hope for the future.’

When did wearing a twisted piece of fabric become activism? Where is the international solidarity when just about every other country has adopted ‘Stop AIDS - Keep the promise’ as their theme?

If we really want to support people living with HIV let’s address real issues. Here are just two concrete suggestions for us to focus on.

1. Doing all we can preventing the criminalisation of HIV transmission.

2. Lobbying for affordable drugs for people in developing countries.

Please do attend World Aids Day events and give as much as you can, wear a ribbon too but remember that the old ACT UP slogan ‘red ribbons are not enough’ has never been truer.