Cois Cladaigh choir and Galway’s Bel Canto sopranos will perform a unique charity concert at St Nicholas Collegiate Church on Friday, December 1, at 8pm.
Hosted by Sexual Health West, the annual World AIDS Day Concert is open to all, and admission is free.
“We are delighted once again to be able to host the annual World AIDS Day Concert in the beautiful surroundings of St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church in Galway, and we look forward to welcoming those who have attended over the years, as well as those who would like to come along for the first time…” says Joe McDonagh, chief executive of Sexual Health West.
The World Health Organisation’s theme for World AIDS Day 2023 is Let Communities Lead. World AIDS Day is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made to date, raise awareness about the challenges that remain to achieve the goal of ending AIDS by 2030, and mobilise stakeholders to redouble their efforts.
New figures for 2022 from the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC ) indicate that last year there was a massive 68% increase in the overall number of people in Ireland with HIV diagnoses, compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019. Among people with a first-time HIV diagnosis, 45% were diagnosed late, and this is of concern as research suggests late HIV diagnosis is associated with poorer outcomes and increased likelihoods of ongoing transmission.
Ireland is contributing to the ambitious UNAIDS targets for zero new infections by 2030 by ensuring HIV treatment is available free to everyone in Ireland. Since 2019, the national PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis ) programme provides prophylactics, such as condoms, free of charge to those considered to be at risk of HIV through sex.
Free HIV testing is available in Ireland through a variety of services e.g opt-out antenatal; sexual health services; emergency departments, student health services, NGOs, drug and homeless services and primary care. HIV community-based testing is also provided in many venues nationwide. The National HSE home STI testing provides a home testing service for STIs and HIV.
