Presentation of the actions conducted by Fight Aids Monaco on this occasion: "Test in the City" screening campaign, "Restaurateurs Solidaires," "Courtepointe Commémorative" and the Association's Charity Auction
On 1 December 2012, World Aids Day, HSH Princess Stephanie, President of Fight Aids Monaco (FAM) and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, organised several communication and prevention operations and raised funds for the Association.
Description:
1 -- For the first time in the Principality, Fight Aids Monaco proposed a free anonymous screening test, Test in the City, which is quick (results within 10 minutes) on Monday 26 November, from 10am to 6.30pm in front of Saint Devota's church. Known as TROD (Test Rapide à Orientation Diagnostique - Quick diagnostic test) or TDR (Test de Dépistage Rapide - Quick Screening Test), it is a "set of medical diagnostic tools in units or small series to obtain quick results with no need for automated procedures. This type of test can detect HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies." The test can be made by non-medical staff specially trained for the purpose. The general public is invited to participate in this operation, unique in Monaco in partnership with the Centre Hospitalier Princesse Grace, its Emergency Department and the Centre de Dépistage Anonyme et Gratuit (Free anonymous screening centre).
2 -- The "Courtepointe" (Quilt) operation, to be held for the second time, is an individual or collective artistic project for creating quilt to pay tribute to AIDS victims. This remembrance approach was instigated in 1987 by the NAMES Project Foundation to emphasise the ravages of this disease. Each quilt is a patchwork of eight pieces sewn together to cover a surface area of 4m x 4m, each one bearing the name of a casualty of the disease and each one made by people from FAM, most of whom are HIV-positive. These quilts were displayed in front of Saint Devota's church on Monday 26 November 2012 at 1pm: a feast for the eyes.
3 - "Restaurateurs Solidaires" is an original initiative on the part of the SEM-ART gallery. As in the previous year, it involved asking the restaurateurs of Monaco and its region to circulate messages of prevention on placemats, serving "Café Coquin" (coffee with condoms) and financially supporting Fight Aids Monaco through donations to the Association.
4 - Finally, the auction, with the kind support of Barclays Monaco for 5 years, was held at Hôtel Méridien Beach Plaza on Saturday 1 December 2012, starting at 7.30pm (by invitation only). Over 50 works (sculptures, paintings, photographs, lithographs) never before displayed by well-known artists were put up for auction, with François Tajan (Artcurial) manning the gavel.
Sébastien Folin, the popular television and radio personality hosted the event.
The FAM Summer Gala and the Auction organised every World AIDS Day (1 December) are the two highlights of the year intended to make our Association and its initiatives better known and raise funds.
AIDS in a few key figures:
- 34 million people worldwide were living with HIV in 2011, 500,000 more than in 2010 --the highest figure since 2001 (29.4 million). This increase is linked with patients' improved longevity thanks to better access to treatment.
- The continents most affected: 1° - Africa: 23.5 million (1 adult out of 20); 2° - South and Southeast Asia: 4 million.
- Region of the world most affected: sub-Saharan Africa, representing 69% of cases worldwide.
- Access to treatment: 8 million HIV-positive people --63% more than in 2009-- have access to retroviral therapy.
- 72% of infected children have no access to treatment.
- Funds amounting to US$16.8bn have been gathered for the fight against AIDS In 2011.
In France:
- 150,000 French people were living with HIV in 2010 --a figure which has changed little since the previous year;
- 6,300 people discovered they were HIV-positive in France in 2010; 12% of them were under the age of 25 in France in 2010;
- 50,000 people in France are HIV-positive without knowing it or benefiting from medical follow-up.
