World AIDS Day activities planned in R.I.

PROVIDENCE – Next Monday is World AIDS Day and a group of HIV/AIDS specialists and advocates will meet with Gov. Lincoln Chafee to raise awareness.

The event will begin at noon in the stateroom at the Statehouse. Discussions are aimed toward shedding light on HIV/AIDS in Rhode Island, which, as of 2012, has killed nearly 1,600 Rhode Islanders, according to a Rhode Island HIV Prevention Coalition press release.

The coalition says rates of HIV infection have decreased over the last 30 years, but noted there were still 74 new cases reported in 2013.

“In R.I., rates of STDs like gonorrhea and syphilis are on the rise in [a] huge way, which can increase the likelihood of HIV infection,” said Kristen Pfeiffer, project director at The Miriam Hospital. “There needs to be more awareness and more dollars invested in primary prevention, education and testing. Prevention is a multi-layered approach, where each layer is as valuable as the next.”

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The coalition commended the R.I. Department of Health’s testing numbers, which increased in 2014, but warned against underfunded primary prevention programs.

“Primary prevention is still largely underfunded and should be considered a valuable piece to prevention if we are to truly get to zero,” according to the press release.

The governor will be joined by Rep. Christopher Blazejewski, D-Providence; Brown University assistant professor Amy Nun, activist Josh Kilby and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender advocate Brandon Fernandes, according to the release.

The coalition also announced the following events, which are free and open to the public.

  • RISD Recognizes World AIDS Day 2014 through Dec. 5, featuring four panels from national AIDS quilts at the Fleet Library, Mandle Building, 15 Westminster St. For information, contact Intercultural Student Engagement, at ise@risd.edu or 277-4957.
  • A Night of Sonnet and Song at 5:30 p.m. Monday in St. Anne’s Art and Cultural Center, 84 Cumberland St., Woonsocket.
  • Alternate Endings: The Ongoing HIV/AIDS Epidemic, at 8 p.m. Dec. 3 in AS220 Black Box Theatre, 95 Empire St., Providence.
  • Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS-free Generation from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 3 in the URI Alumni Center, 73 Upper College Road, South Kingstown.

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