Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 22:34:44 +0100 From: s-coote@dircon.co.uk (Stephen Coote) Subject: NATIONAL AIDS TRUST 2 NATIONAL AIDS TRUST New City Cloisters, 188-196 Old Street, London EC1V 9FR NATIONAL AIDS TRUST (UK) PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWS "National AIDS Trust to win over 'Hearts and Minds' in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales" The National AIDS Trust, one of the UK's leading HIV charities, is to encourage Britain's younger generation to become involved in the global fight against AIDS in what will be a long-term legacy to the celebrated work of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. The Princess was Patron of the National AIDS Trust until her tragic death last year, and the charity is to receive £1million from the Memorial Fund established in her honour. It will use the money to develop projects including 'Hearts and Minds' - a major new initiative to involve Britain's youth in fostering vital HIV educational work here and in developing countries where HIV/AIDS seriously affects entire communities. Details of the project are still being drawn up and will be announced later this year. Derek Bodell, Director of the National AIDS Trust says, "This is a poignant and valuable opportunity to continue the Princess's pioneering and compassionate work to raise AIDS awareness and tackle the stigma that surrounds HIV. There is a generation of young people in Britain who were not around during the early public education campaigns. 'Hearts and Minds' will inspire them to follow the Princess's example and get involved in the fight against HIV both at home and abroad. He continues, "Here at home people with HIV have new and changing needs. Although many are living longer and healthier lives because of new drug treatments, they need to have better access to accurate and practical information about these new drugs. And we need to fight the discrimination people with HIV still face in the workplace and wider community. This money will help us tackle these huge tasks." - ENDS - Notes to Editors: 1. The National AIDS Trust (NAT) was established in 1987 and is one of the UK's leading HIV charities with projects spanning England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. NAT works to promote a wider understanding of HIV/AIDS in society, to initiate and support work to help prevent the spread of HIV, and to improve the quality of life of people with HIV/AIDS. Current projects include the annual World AIDS Day awareness campaign, the Employers Initiative to fight discrimination against people with HIV in the workplace, and the Family Secrets project to tackle the stigma surrounding HIV. 2. Diana, Princess of Wales was Patron of NAT from 1991 until her death last year, and was a friend of the Trust from its creation. The Princess's work for the Trust involved many visits to AIDS treatment centres and support groups, attending fundraising events, and opening and speaking at conferences on AIDS. 3. HIV/AIDS statistics × world: - there is an estimated 16,000 new cases of HIV infection every day - 1 in 100 adults in the 15-49 age group are infected with HIV - 30 million people are now living with HIV/AIDS - by the year 2000 this is expected to rise to 40 million (source: UNAIDS) × UK: - there is one case of HIV reported in the UK every 4 hours on average - a total of 15,074 cases of AIDS were reported by the end of 1997 - a total of 30,990 cases of HIV infection were reported by the end of 1997 (source: PHLS) For further information please contact: × Gavin Hart, NAT: work: 0171 814 6730 pager: 01523 411736 home: 0171 240 5497 × Steve Coote, NAT: home: 0171 735 1592 sent via: Stephen Coote ------------------------------------------------- GAYtoZ - UK's Gay Phonebook FREEDOM FAIR - London, 22 March 1998 GAY DATA - http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~s-coote 41 Cook's Road, Kennington, London, SE17 3NG Tel +44 171 793 7450, Fax +44 171 820 1366 -------------------------------------------------