By IANS,
Hyderabad : A candle light memorial will be held Sunday to honour those affected by HIV/AIDS across Andhra Pradesh where prevalence of the disease is high.
The event will be organised by International AIDS Candlelight Memorial (IACM) that lights candles on every third Sunday in May to honour those affected by HIV/AIDS.
“Andhra Pradesh continues to be one of the states where HIV prevalence is high and around half a million people are living with HIV in the state. Many NGOs and community based organisations are facilitating such events in other parts of the state,” IACM national coordinator M.K. Nabeel said.
Along with several national and state level organisations like the Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society, the UNAIDS office here is also supporting the event being held in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh.
“Similar programmes are held at more than 250 locations in India and around 1,200 centres internationally, spread across 120 countries,” Nabeel said.
The theme for the IACM event this year is “Together We Can” with emphasis on “Ensuring Access to Treatment, Prevention and Care”.
The event would also include a symposium on stigma and discrimination and a candlelight ‘human chain’ would be formed at the premises of the District Collector’s Office Sunday evening.