In celebration of World Aids Day 2019, the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation (DTHF) and the Wellcome Centre for Infectious Disease Research (CIDRI) in Africa hosted an exhibition highlighting the 2019 theme, “Communities make the Difference”. Photographs were displayed at UCT’s Institute of Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM), displaying some of the outreach activities and community engagement staff of each organisation.
DTHF COO, Linda-Gail Bekker, was on hand with IDM Director, Valerie Mizrahi, to welcome guests and draw attention to the importance of community involvement in the HIV response.
“World Aids Day reminds us of the fact that we are still in the midst of one of the biggest public health challenges of this modern era. This year the focus is squarely on community. This country more than any other has felt the benefit of civil society when it comes to the HIV response. When we had an administration that did not believe in anti-retrovirals, it was civil society that refocused us. So today, and in the future, I have no doubt of the role that community must play in the response,” said Bekker.
