“Inexplicable it’s taken until 2023”: Sadiq Khan on London’s first permanent HIV/AIDS memorial
Sadiq Khan is hoping that London’s first permanent HIV/AIDS memorial will “encourage people to ask questions” about the epidemic so they can learn about the history of the virus and the reality of living with it in 2023.
In line with World AIDS Day on 1 December, the Mayor of London announced that £130,000 of funding from the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm would go towards a memorial to remember the lives lost to HIV/AIDS and tackle discrimination.
It is set to be in place by 2026 and will be located in Camden near the site of the UK’s first dedicated HIV/AIDS hospital ward in the UK. “The reason why we have memorials, we have statues, is because they make a difference, they remind people about our history, but also they encourage people to ask questions,” Khan told GAY TIMES. “What happened with this condition?
Why was it that there was such a loss of life? What is the role of stigma going to play in relation to people suffering in silence going to receive treatment?” 40.4 million people have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the epidemic AIDS-related illnesses have so far claimed 40.4 million lives, according to data from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and roughly 39 million people globally were living with HIV in 2022.
