When it was announced some weeks ago the Prince was to focus part of his public work on highlighting the fight against Aids, the move was welcomed by HIV charities and organisations who said his involvement with the issue would help shine a spotlight on the “epidemic” of people contracting the virus.
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Prince Harry will address delegates at an Aids conference today as he takes his campaign to raise awareness about HIV to the worldwide stage. “As people with HIV live longer, AIDS is a topic that has drifted from the headlines”.
South Africa has the largest HIV/AIDS treatment program in the world, with 3.4 million people taking antiretroviral drugs.
The prince, who publicly took an HIV test earlier this month, said the world can not lose the sense of urgency in fighting the disease.
“But we now face a new risk, the risk of complacency”.
Violence against LGBT people is common in much of Africa, but victims fear reporting hate crimes to the police who often refuse to pursue their cases, advocates say.
“We can not beat HIV without giving young people in every country the voice they deserve”.
Last week, the prince underwent an HIV test on Facebook Live from the Guys and St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, to highlight the importance of getting tested, “whether you’re a man, woman, gay, straight, black, white, whatever, a ginger!” “He has his mother’s compassion, her sense of responsibility, her caring and her determination to make the world a better place”, he said as Prince Harry sat nearby on the stage with his head bowed. “Bravo Prince Harry! Your mother would be so proud of you”, he captioned a photo of the Prince.
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Prince Harry, along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, have co-founded an AIDS group called Sentebale, which supports orphans and young people with HIV-AIDS.
