Activists Mark HIV/AIDS Awareness Month, Highlight Ongoing Stigma in Taiwan

TaiwanPlus News

The Taiwan AIDS Foundation and supporters have held an annual event marking HIV/AIDS Awareness Month, highlighting the stigma that continues to affect people living with HIV in Taiwan.

Transcript

00:00The Taiwan AIDS Foundation in Taipei has held their annual event to raise awareness about the taboos surrounding

00:06HIV and AIDS that still persist in society. This year marks 40 years since the country's first imported case of HIV.

00:14December is HIV AIDS Awareness Month, which aims to draw attention to the virus and promote more research to eradicate the disease.

00:23Today's event featured presentations from activists and medical professionals and a Q&A session with virtual idols

00:31to dispel some common misconceptions about HIV and AIDS.

00:45The foundation says their efforts have helped make progress, but that more work needs to be done.

00:53It started six or seven years ago, but there are still hundreds of new infections every year.

01:03This means that our revolution has not yet been successful, so we need to work together.

01:09Around 40,000 people in Taiwan live with HIV, and it once was considered a terminal illness, but that's since changed.

01:16Modern treatment allows HIV-positive people to live full lives.

01:20One antiretroviral pill a day can reduce a person's viral load, which would

01:26make them undetectable and untransmittable,

01:29which means they can't spread the virus. And a new UN report found that the AIDS pandemic could be eliminated by 2030,

01:37but only if world leaders commit to providing necessary health resources and advocate for human rights protections.

01:45But those I spoke to today say they still face discrimination in employment and in their daily lives,

01:51and this discrimination can often lead to fewer people seeking testing and treatment for HIV.

01:57And activists say that's their main battle here, eliminating these stigmas.

02:01Only then can they hope to successfully suppress the spread of HIV and AIDS.

02:07Klein Wong and Wessie Lewis in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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