Photo by Sanjay Suchak

If you’re wondering why the Wilson Building looks redder than usual this evening, it’s because the District is joining in today’s commemoration of World AIDS Day by hosting a number of events and shining red lights on the home of the city’s government.

Recognizing the impact of AIDS has particular significance in the District. Over three percent of District residents are HIV-positive, putting the city above the recognized threshold for what constitutes an epidemic. (A great primer on the city’s epidemic is The Other City, which we watched last year.) A report based on 2009 statistics published last year found:

[A]t least 16,721 Washington residents were aware that they had HIV or AIDS, a slight increase over 2008. The study also shows that 13 percent of active drug users in the District are HIV-positive, while the disease continues to disproportionally affect Hispanic, black and over-50 residents, as well as those who live in Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8.

There have been advances, though. The number of new cases declined from 2007 to 2009, and the District government has taken innovative steps to increase awareness and testing. Last October, it kicked off a pilot program at the Penn Branch DMV where residents could be tested as they waited for other services. Over the course of a year, some 5,000 residents were tested, and the program has been expanded to city centers were social services are provided.

Obviously, it’s still an uphill slog until the District can declare even partial victory, and plenty of challenges remain. The District’s longstanding status as a congressional fiefdom means that local funding for HIV/AIDS programs has been threatened by political disagreements over the federal budget, and needle-exchange programs, which are seen as an effective way to cut down on transmission of the disease, are often the subject of congressional riders banning the use of local funds on them.

Still, next year will be big for the District — it’s hosting the International AIDS Conference, where some 25,000 delegates from 200 countries will descend on the city to discuss how to confront the disease. It’ll be the first time the conference finds itself in the U.S. in two decades.

Today, Mayor Vince Gray and other officials will host a number of events to observe the day, and testing will be a key part of them. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a mobile HIV testing bus will be parked outside the Wilson Building, providing free testing to anyone who happens by. (On a related note, tests will also be administered at the McPherson Square Occupy DC encampment; D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton announced that she would be getting tested herself.)

Gray also announced an expansion of the “Ask for the Test” campaign, through which the city works with two radio stations (WKYS 93.9-FM and WMMJ 102.3-FM) to raise awareness and increase testing. From October 2010 to September 2011, 122,356 tests were offered, three times the number from 2007.

In other events, Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large), who chairs the D.C. Council’s Committee on Health and has led the legislature’s charge in the fight against HIV/AIDS, will be holding a hearing at 10 a.m. on legislation that would offer specific academic training to local physicians so they can better identify and respond to HIV/AIDS-related afflictions. At 2 p.m., the committee will hold a hearing on legislation that would implement HIV/AIDS educational outreach program for seniors and incorporate HIV/AIDS education into continuing education requirements for physicians, physician assistants, and nurses.

At 6 p.m., Gray and others will participate in a candlelight vigil in Dupont Circle hosted by the Whitman Walker Clinic. (The clinic is also offering free testing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at two locations — 1701 14th Street NW and 2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE.)

If there are any other events or commemorations of note, please leave them in the comments.