That’s the message of this year’s Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
Zero new infections. Zero AIDS-related deaths. Zero discrimination.
About 40 people gathered Monday night in the ballroom in Bloomington’s Fountain Square Mall to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have lost their battle with HIV/AIDS.
“HIV is still with us,” said Kris Roehling, the World AIDS Day Ceremony chairperson of Bloomington and member of the Community AIDS Action Group of South Central Indiana, to open the ceremony.
The CAAG of South Central Indiana, a coalition of different individuals and organizations who address different HIV/AIDS-related issues on a local scale, hosts a ceremony every year on Dec. 1 in honor of World AIDS Day.
World AIDS Day began in 1988 and is meant to be a day where people demonstrate unity in the fight against HIV/AIDS and support and remember those who are currently living with or have died from the disease.
The ceremony featured musical performances by local vocalists and musicians.
The Quarryland Men’s Chorus sang “Homage.” Emily Schultheis sang “Over the Rainbow” and Scott Jones sang “End of the World,” both of whom were accompanied by Ray Fellman on piano, and Amanda Biggs and Justin Teague performed “When You Believe.”
The national theme for this year’s World AIDS Day was “Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS-free Generation.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, this theme “reflects the drive to focus on interventions that work and partner with a broad range of stakeholders to achieve ?control of the epidemic.”
Additionally, every five years the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS releases a strategy on the global fight against AIDS that announces a particular theme. The theme for this five-year strategy and the message that was explored Monday night is “Getting to Zero.”
In the middle of the event, a period of time was allocated for what was known as the remembrance ceremony.
This portion of the event was marked by a reading of names of individuals who have died from AIDS or AIDS-related complications and lighting a candle to honor their memories. Anyone in attendance was invited to read a name or light a candle.
Every day, more than 7,000 people are infected with HIV, according to the 2011 United Nations’ World AIDS Day report. Between 1981 and 2007 more than 60 million people became infected with the virus, and more than 25 million of them have since died from the disease.
Each year, the Celia Busch “Making a Difference” Award is given by the Community AIDS Action Group, which recognizes a person who makes an effort to increase AIDS awareness and shows compassion, concern, empathy and understanding for local individuals who have been affected by the disease.
This year’s recipient of the award was Rebekah Sinders , who has served as the secretary of CAAG for about four years and has been an active member of the group for about five years.
There was a reading of the proclamation that was issued by Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan on Nov. 18, which declared Bloomington would celebrate World AIDS Day ?on Dec. 1.
In Kruzan’s absence, Nancy Woolery, the health projects manager for the City of Bloomington, read the ?proclamation to the crowd.
“World AIDS Day started on Dec. 1, 1988, with the goal of raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education about HIV/AIDS,” the ?proclamation read.
Kruzan’s proclamation continued, saying the day is an important way to remember that, though there have been advances, HIV is still a problem facing Americans and that Bloomington residents must continue to help and support those living with the disease.
“(It is an) important way to celebrate the extraordinary advances we have made in the battle against HIV and AIDS and to remind Bloomington residents ... that HIV has not gone away,” the ?proclamation read.
