People and organizations around the world are coming together today to mark the 20th anniversary of Worlds AIDS Day.

AIDS has led to more than 25 million deaths with an estimated 33 million people currently living with HIV worldwide; two million of the victims are under the age of 15. Although the response to and treatment of the disease is much better and more manageable than it was 20 years ago, there is still much work to be done – especially in third-world countries, where AIDS continues to ravage some populations.

Here stateside, President Bush announced that his administration already met its goal of treating two million people living with HIV/AIDS by the end of the year. UNAIDS says that as of 2005, there were about 1.2 million people living with AIDS in the U.S.

To help mark this day, governments around the world are pledging to boost their fight against HIV and fight the stigmas associated with the disease. Here’s what’s happening:

-In China, AIDS activists are skeptical of a promise by the government there to fight discrimination against people with the disease after Chinese health authorities and the U.N. unveiled a giant red ribbon at the Olympic Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing. Unsanitary blood plasma-buying schemes and tainted transfusions in hospitals caused the virus to take hold in that country. The government for years denied AIDS was a problem. Progress has been made, but the government still restricts activists and patients seeking even more support and rights. Chinese President Hu Jintao also visited AIDS patients Monday. There are an estimated 264,302 Chinese living with HIV or AIDS, the majority of whom were infected via sex, the government says.

-In South Africa, the country with the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in the world, the government is creating an AIDS strategy under a new health minister. People in that country held a moment of silence at midday to mark respect for the disease’s victims; about 5.5 million people have been affected. The well-known Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo called for reducing the stigma still attached to the disease.

-Indonesia’s government has been urged to change its “ineffective” approach to HIV/AIDS, as the number of people infected grows each year. The Association of Indonesian Physicians Concerned about HIV/AIDS says the usual government tactic of encouraging behavioral change just isn’t working. It’s estimated there are about 270,000 people in Indonesia living with HIV/AIDS today – more than double the 120,000 in 2002.

-In Malaysia, many believe that people with HIV/AIDS are still affected by stigmas, particularly in workplaces, schools and among health-care workers. "They (health-care workers) are the worst culprits,” Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman said during a press conference after launching World Aids Day at Berjaya Times Square. “There are private hospitals that refused to accept expectant mothers who have AIDS and doctors who refused to do surgery.” About 82,700 HIV cases have been reported to the Health Ministry there; of which, about 14,100 are full-blown AIDS cases.

-The Australian government has committed $150,000 to help ten Asia Pacific countries fight the disease. Last year, more than 16,000 people were reported living with HIV/AIDS in Australia. "Engaging affected communities is the best way of encouraging responsible behavior like safe sex and condom use, because the most effective education on these issues can be from people’s peers rather than directly from government," said Health Minister Nicola Roxon.

-In Turkey, activist and HIV/AIDS sufferers held a demonstration in Istanbul. There are at least 3,170 people who are HIV-positive in Turkey; it’s estimated that number is higher. 

-Argentina unveiled a new AIDS awareness campaign.

Here’s a video by mothers2mothers (m2m), a program across Africa designed to help HIV-positive pregnant women care for themselves and avoid transmission of the virus to their babies: