Bukedea hosts 2022 candlelight

May 15, 2022

Jotham Mubangizi, the country director of UNAIDS, said the candlelight memorial was initiated in 1983 to remember the heroes that succumbed to HIV.

Minister Milly Babalanda and US ambassador Natalie Brown were among the dignitaries present. (Credit: Lawrence Okwakol)

Lawrence Okwakol
Journalist @New Vision

HEALTH | HIV/AIDS | CANDLELIGHT 

The Uganda AIDS Commission has organised the 2022 Candlelight Memorial in Bukedea district with the theme: 'Ending HIV and Discrimination Our Collective Responsibility'.

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, held on the third Sunday of May every year, is not only an opportunity to remember the people we have lost, but also to honour those who dedicated their lives to helping people living with and affected by HIV and continue to mobilise our communities in solidarity.

Bukedea has registered a drop in HIV/AIDS prevalence from 18% to 5% according to the AIDS commission.

The Bukedea district chairperson Moses Olemukan thanked the national organizers for choosing Bukedea as a host district.

Jotham Mubangizi, the country director of UNAIDS, said the candlelight memorial was initiated in 1983 to remember the heroes that succumbed to HIV.

US ambassador remarks

US Ambassador to Uganda Natalie E. Brown at 2022 Candlelight Memorial Commemoration in her remarks (as irritated for delivery) in part said:

Last year, Uganda’s National theme was “Freeing workplaces of stigma and discrimination,” and this year, the theme focuses on stigma yet again. We must keep this as part of the conversation, but it must be more than a conversation.

After almost four decades of death in the shadow of stigma and discrimination, because we have extended antiretroviral therapy (ART) to so many Ugandans, HIV-related deaths have decreased. Still, the stigma and discrimination remain, playing a significant role in new HIV infections and preventable deaths.

It is time for all of us to match our words with actions. But to do so, we must turn the conversation to what we are not talking about and what we are not doing, acknowledge the things that need to change, and make a deliberate choice to take action. 

Our conversation needs to become about conscious decisions, who gets to make them, and who doesn’t get to make them due to stigma and discrimination driven by a lack of knowledge and understanding. Preventing HIV, knowing your status, and choosing lifesaving ART should be a deliberate choice for everyone, but for many, it is not.

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