Why are we still lighting candles for people who died of AIDS? Globally UNAIDS reported in July 2019 that approximately 1.7 million acquired HIV and approximately 800,000 people died of AIDS in 2018.
Our response to COVID-19 makes sense because we know what happens when we choose not to care and ignore public health threats, thinking “that won’t be me”. 75 million have acquired HIV, more than 32 million have died, this is why we remember the lives we have lost so that we can take actions that keep us loved, safe, healthy and alive.
This year WA community groups and organisations are inviting you to attend the Perth International AIDS Candlelight Memorial virtually. You can join us by having a candle at home ready to light and joining us through this Zoom link at 6pm Perth Time Sunday the 17th of May 2020.
The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is a time for all of us to remember the many lives lost to AIDS. It is an opportunity to honour those who dedicated their lives to helping people living with and affected by HIV and continue to mobilise our communities in solidarity.
People living with HIV started the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial in 1983 our communities choose to keep it going, because there are 38 million people living with HIV today.
The Candlelight Memorial serves as an important intervention for coming together to build our community while breaking down barriers of stigma and discrimination, giving hope to new generations & providing the opportunity to promote the new HIV Prevention Strategies such as #UEQUALSU, HIV Undetectable = HIV Untransmittable & PrEP + Condoms = Safer Sex.
That hope, believes in the triumph of love and courage over fear and hate, no matter what viruses may come or their varied mutations.
If you can, we encourage you to take some time to reflect at the Perth AIDS Memorial in Robertson Park, on the corner of Fitzgerald and Stuart Streets and join us for our very human story of living beyond HIV.
Perth International AIDS Candlelight Memorial will be held on Sunday 17th May from 6pm. You can join in the online ceremony on Zoom.
Words:- Friends of the AIDS Memorial
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