VARIOUS GROUPS COMMEMORATED AIDS VICTIM THROUGH AIDS MEMORIAL QUILT

Manila, May 23, 2012: During the Multi-Stakeholders Forum on Health and Rights Awareness, various groups led by Mr. Eddy Razon of Pinoy Plus Association Inc. (PPAI) commemorated the life of people who died of AIDS through the Memorial Quilt.

The AIDS Memorial quilt is a powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic.  In the Philippines, based on the HIV/AIDS registry for March 2012, there are 799 HIV positive cases in 2012; thirty were reported as AIDS cases. Of these, 29 were males and 1 was female.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt Project is to preserve the powerful images and stories contained within the Quilt while expanding its AIDS awareness and HIV prevention education efforts.

Dr. Eden Divinagracia, executive director of PNGOC said that the quilt provides an opportunity for collective grief and healing in a world that was largely intolerant of people with HIV.

Mr. Razon of PPAI said that the AIDS Memorial Quilt has been used to fight prejudice, raise awareness and funding, as a means to link hands with the global community in the struggle against AIDS, and as an effective tool in HIV and AIDS education and prevention.