Cois Cladaigh choir and the Bel Canto singers will perform at the World AIDS Day Concert on Friday, November 28, from 8:00pm, at St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church in Galway.
The annual concert is organised by Sexual Health West. It 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,” said Joe McDonagh, CEO of Sexual Health West. “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 – all are welcome.”
The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is ‘Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response.’
The commemoration of World AIDS Day, which will take place on December 1, 2025, is an important opportunity to highlight the impact that the funding cuts from international donors have had on the response to AIDS, as well as to showcase the resilience of countries and communities.
In 2025, a historic worldwide funding crisis is threatening to unravel decades of progress. HIV prevention services and community-led services, vital to reaching marginalized populations, have been severely disrupted.
Recent data from the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre indicates that new diagnoses of HIV in Ireland are down 21 per cent compared to the same period in 2024, with 178 fewer diagnoses. Additionally, the rates of diagnoses of many STIs including Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis and Herpes are also showing a significant decreases.
Sexual Health West says it is delighted with this trend, as it indicates its prevention and education services are having an impact, alongside HSE measures.
These include Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP ) treatment for HIV which is hailed for being 99 per cent successful at prevention, and the HSE’s National Condom Distribution Service (NCDS ) which distributes free condoms and lubricant sachets to sexual health services, third level institutions, public sector organisations and NGOs. Condoms and lubricant are available for free, and can be accessed by anyone from the age of 17 years through a range of clinical services, postal services or community venues.
Sexual Health West also offers free community-based Rapid HIV and Syphilis testing in many venues across the west of Ireland, and home testing kits, and a range of educational materials for the classroom.
Galway HIV Fast-Track Cities Initiative continues, committing to scale-up local HIV responses to help end the HIV epidemic by 2030, by getting to zero new HIV infections and zero AIDS related deaths.
For more info, and concert details, call 091 566266 or email [email protected]
