On Tuesday December 1 it was World AIDS Day 2009.
I attended an event in the Houses of Parliament aimed at raising awareness of the issues surrounding the stigma of HIV/AIDS. The theme for this year was "Reality" and it is hoped that through the National AIDS Trust campaign that the reality of peopl
e living with this virus in the UK can be better understood by everyone.
At the event were many medical and social experts as well as campaigners such as the singer Annie Lennox. What was humbling though was to see so many brave people there who have managed to live with the condition thanks in no small part to the huge medical advances made in recent years. They really are an inspiration.
While, as I say, the medical advances made in recent years have been nothing short of remarkable both in terms of treatment and diagnosis, both nationally and locally I believe there is much we can do to continue making sure we improve the service that people receive.
It is often thought, wrongly, that HIV is something that is only a problem in developing countries. While of course the rate of infection in western countries is nothing like it is in many African countries, it is still the case that over 80,000 people are living with the virus in the UK.
The social advances, however, have sadly not been as dramatic as the medical advances with regards to the stigma which is often attached and in many cases people who have the virus do not feel that they are able to tell anyone about it.
I remember when I was chair of Crawley Borough Council's Environment Committee in the 80s we used to do a lot of work to try and dispel some of the myths and it seems as though many of those myths still exist in 2009.
People with HIV can live long and productive lives and should not feel like they need to hide their condition in order to be accepted by society and there is a lot more we can do to get rid of this stigma.
Of course the media have a role to play in this but so do all of us in our day to day lives. I hope campaigns like this can help and I would encourage everyone to find out more.
