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Never Discriminate

Never Discriminate

Never Discriminate

World Aids Day has been celebrated around the world since 1988 on December 1st. It was the first world health day and has become one of the main events to raise the awareness of the global population one of the most destructive pandemics in human history (over 35 million victims). Notwithstanding the progress that has been made, last year, 690,000 people died of diseases related to AIDS and 12.6 million of the 38 million people who live with HIV have no access to cures. The most recent UNAIDS Report reveals that the Covid-19 pandemic may nullify all the progress made against HIV.

 

"We currently estimate that ca. 18,000 people in Italy live with an HIV infection and do not know about it. This means that we need new strategies to identify these concealed cases and allow the infected to be rapidly diagnosed. Tardy diagnoses lead to a thousand health issues for the patient, as well as public health problems, increasing the risk of disease transmission.” This is the warning launched by Infectious Diseases Expert Massimo Andreoni, Scientific Director of the Italian Society for Infectious and Tropical Diseases (SIMIT) [see Adnkronos Press Agency (in Italian): L'infettivologo: "18mila con Hiv e non lo sanno]. Over 1000 students had the opportunity to meet with Prof. Massimo Andreoniin at the Experts in Class live event [see news: Health: It’s Time for Empathy].

 

The Network of HIV-positive People (NPS), a partner of Project Factor J for Infectious Diseases, has launched an awareness raising campaign with “I Ragazzi della Panchina Association to “Always Protect Oneself and Never Discriminate.”

 

 

“It’s not only by noticing the problem on December 1st, World AIDS Day,” explain Ada Moznich and Margherita Errico from the NPS executive board, “that we can hope to understand, face and solve such a deeply-rooted and complex social health problem. This will require correct behaviour, sound information and the need to overcome the stigma. We need to improve the current situation in Italy where the data is alarming: a new HIV-positive person is diagnosed every two hours.”

 

Thanks to Project Factor J, experts from Network of HIV-positive People are in touch with thousands of young men and women. The next educational session will be held tomorrow (11:30-1:00) with students from seven high schools: Kant - Rome, Spallanzani - Tivoli, Archimede - Messina, La Farina - Messina, Fermi - Bologna, Adriano - Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Piaget - Rome.

 

Factor J, promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale with Janssen Italia, is the first Italian school curriculum for educating students to develop emotional intelligence, respect and empathy towards individuals suffering from unease of disease. This is an important social operation to stimulate a change in mentality and culture in the new generations.

 

 

 

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