DUSHANBE, May 14, 2010, Asia-Plus — An action to honor all those who have been affected by AIDS pandemic will take place in Dushanbe on May 15.
Numon Abdurahmonov, a specialist with the Republican AIDS Center, says the action is organized by the AIDS Center and the Ministry of Health in cooperation with NGOs Guli Surkh, RAN and Ravnyye Vozmozhnosti (Equal Opportunities) under technical support of the UNDP CO in Tajikistan and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria on the occasion of the International Candlelight Memorial.
According to the Republican AIDS Center, more than 250 people have died in Tajikistan of AIDS/HIV since 1991. Today, 2,009 people live with HIV in Tajikistan.
The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial campaign (also called AIDS Candlelight March, AIDS Candlelight Memorial, AIDS Candlelight Vigil), is organized by the Global Health Council, is the largest and oldest grassroots HIV/AIDS campaign and is widely considered the word”s largest annual grassroots event. The cyclical awareness campaign encourages communities and individuals around the world to become involved in HIV/AIDS work by participating in an annual worldwide memorial. The Memorial occurs on the third Sunday of May and is led by volunteer coordinators who host memorials for their communities worldwide. The Global Health Council works with international partners to recruit and counsel community coordinators.
Started by People with AIDS concurrently in San Francisco and New York City in 1983 the memorial is meant to honor all those who have been affected by the AIDS pandemic. The Memorial began at a time when little was known about HIV. Today, an estimated 25 million people have died as a result of AIDS and 40 million are currently estimated to be infected with the disease.
