40 years since the onset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial is a time not only to remember the many lives lost to AIDS, but also to reflect on the stories of long-term survivors and caregivers.
These stories must inform our practical response to HIV today both in policy and for social equity. The wisdom of these stories can also improve our responses to COVID-19, future pandemics and other contemporary crises.Many early depictions of HIV/AIDS focus on the experience of gay communities in the United States, or the United Kingdom in the recent television series It’s a Sin.However, HIV/AIDS has deeply affected, and continues to affect, many different communities in Canada.