Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, will be marking World AIDS Day this Sunday, December 1 at an event where the world’s largest AIDS awareness ribbon will be unveiled.
Caroline will be giving the opening speech at the ‘You, Me and HIV’ event at 2pm on Sunday December 1 on The Level in Brighton. AVERT, the Brighton World AIDS Day Community Partnership (a coalition of local HIV organisations), and several other international organisations have teamed up for the event.
Volunteers will lay out an AIDS awareness ribbon measuring 45 metres – the world’s largest, a symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV, to remind passers-by that HIV is a daily reality for communities across the world and that it can affect anyone.
Caroline said: “I’m extremely proud to be taking part in World AIDS Day.
“WAD is about remembering those who have died, and supporting those for whom HIV and AIDS, along with the associated stigma, prejudice and financial hardship, remain a daily reality. Brighton and Hove has the highest prevalence of people with HIV outside of London and yet around one in five does not know he or she has the virus. If people are diagnosed and treated in time, they can now live a normal life span, and infectiousness can be reduced by 96%.
“The red ribbon is a reminder that we must continue to make this a priority. So on World Aids Day 2013 I want to particularly pay tribute to all the excellent prevention and early diagnosis work already happening in our city, as well as the continued commitment to further improvements.”
Caroline will be also be taking part in World AIDS Day events in Parliament this week, including meetings with the Terence Higgins Trust (THT), and members of the Halve It coalition, which is working to cut by half the proportion of people diagnosed late.
To find out more, CLICK HERE:
You must be logged in to post a comment.