The Duke also gave a brief nod to his mother, Princess Diana
On World AIDS Day, Prince Harry has shared a letter supporting a cause that was very close to his late mother Princess Diana’s heart. The Duke of Sussex gave awareness on the work that is being done to help eradicate the AIDS epidemic, and also drew comparisons between it and the coronavirus pandemic.
The letter
The 37-year-old started by talking about the impactful 40 years that had passed, and how it changed the life of many. He said that his mother, as well as everyone else, is grateful to the scientific community for bringing changes to the deadly and chronic disease. Prince Harry then brought attention to vaccination equity, and how we are failing at it. If we are not able to vaccinate the population by September 2022, more deadly variants of the coronavirus can arise and put lives at risk. As a result, certain pharma monopolies have to be broken in order to get vaccinations to countries that need it the most. The goal will be to learn from the HIV days where millions died due to deep inequities in treatment.
He concluded by saying that today can be spent on celebrating the success we have achieved in making AIDS a manageable diseases, but tomorrow we go back to making a difference.
Princess Diana’s fight against AIDS
Princess Diana was undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in modern history. In her short time as a royal member, she had been a voice for bringing treatment and support to patients suffering from AIDS or any HIV diseases. She was spotted many times shaking hands with AIDS patients in the late ’80s, a time when they were shunned and beliefs were spread that any physical contact will spread the virus to others.
Prince Harry had also spoken about HIV/AIDS awareness, and even got tested for HIV alongside Rihanna on live camera in 2016. He is also a founding patron of Sentebale, a charity that supports the mental health and wellbeing of children affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.
Prince Harry is making sure to take Princess Diana’s legacy ahead in every way.
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