Rain poured down as the Positive Living Niagara flag was raised at Thorold City Hall on Wednesday morning, in observance of HIV/AIDS Awareness Week.
“I think it’s really important to keep the conversation going about HIV,” Sarah Burtch from Positive Living Niagara tells ThoroldToday. “Especially here in North America there’s a real perception that it is not an issue. That it is something that happens someplace else.”
Positive Living Niagara is a community-based organization that provides support, education, and advocacy for HIV-positive individuals, their families, and their friends.
HIV/AIDS Awareness Week takes place every year in the lead-up to World AIDS day on Dec. 1.
World AIDS Day also marks the start of Indigenous HIV/AIDS Awareness Week. Indigenous people are still disproportionally affected by the disease.
At the flag raising ceremony, Mayor Terry Ugulini gave a short speech reminding everybody present of the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness.
“The World Health Organization is calling on global leaders and citizens to boldly recognize and address the inequalities which are holding back progress in ending AIDS and equalize access to essential HIV services,” he said.
To raise awareness, Positive Living Niagara has been raising flags all over the region. Burtch tells ThoroldToday that a campaign like this is more important now than ever.
“Especially during the pandemic we have actually seen an increase of new cases of HIV as well as AIDS,” she says. “We have seen the impact of the inequity in health access and how that’s impacted people.”
Burtch highlights that there are resources available for people in Niagara who are seeking HIV/AIDS treatment or who want to know their status.
During the pandemic, HIV self-test kits have become available to all Canadians, and Positive Living Niagara has started a PrEP clinic. PrEP is a pill that HIV-negative people can take on a daily basis to prevent transmission.
“The important thing is to connect people with care and also testing,” says Burtch. “People don’t know that they are maybe engaging in activities that can create risk for them.”
With the flag raising ceremony, Burtch hopes to be one step closer to one day eradicating the virus.
“This is just part of the campaign to try to get people talking and letting people know that it is still an issue and we need to support people living in our community,” she says.
