Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, November 28 2019 - On the occasion of World AIDS Day which is celebrated on December 1st, the Municipality of Milan, in collaboration with various associations, puts in place a program dedicated to raising awareness and preventing the HIV virus.

The initiatives start tomorrow: from 10am to 16pm, at the Polytechnic University of Milan, in collaboration with ATS Città Metropolitana di Milano and the Poliedro student association, condoms, gadgets and information materials will be distributed to raise students' awareness on the issues of safe sexuality and of prevention. The initiative will be repeated in the following days also at the Bocconi University (3 December) and the Catholic University (5 December).

From 29 November to 3 December in Viale Jenner 44 from 8am to 15pm, thanks to ATS Citta Metropolitana Milano, it will be possible to take the rapid salivary test for the identification of specific HIV and HCV antibodies, anonymously, free of charge and without an appointment . Also on Friday 15th, in via San Bernardino 29, the conference will be held, promoted by Caritas Ambrosiana and the social cooperative Filo di Arianna, which will retrace thirty years of activity of the "Centro Teresa Gabrieli" accommodation home for people with HIV without family support and social. Subsequently, on November 4th from 30pm to 15pm, the House in via Consolini 19 will open its spaces to citizens also offering the possibility of enjoying interactive installations through which the visitor will be able to learn about some significant stories of the guests welcomed in the centre.

In December, on the web, in the Uci cinema and The space cinema circuits and on Sky Italia, an information and awareness-raising spot on the topic created by the Fast track cities network in collaboration with the Third Secret of Satire will be broadcast.

On December 18st, World AIDS Day, Arcigay Milano in collaboration with ALA, ANLAIDS Lombardia and Fast track cities are organizing, from 30pm to 23pm, a special evening, in via Tazzoli 30, to reiterate the commitment against the stigma and prejudice that still affects people with HIV today. The evening will be hosted by Discoradio speaker Fabio Marelli, together with testimonials Fabrizio Sclavi and DJ Claudio De Tullio. A special project will be presented for which artists and fashion designers have created artwork for limited edition t-shirts. Part of the happening will be a video by Andrew Quinn, a well-known Australian videomaker, designed to celebrate "The Blankets of Names", panels of fabric with the names of people who have died from AIDS, embroidered and sewn together to form a the only blanket. To date it is considered the largest collective artistic work in the world.

Finally, on December 3, at 18 pm at Bocconi University, a conference will be held on the topic of HIV and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections with the aim of increasing awareness within the student community about the spread of the virus.

In 2018, there were 2.847 new diagnoses of HIV infection in Italy, equal to 4,7 new cases for every 100.000 residents. The highest incidence of new diagnoses is found in the age group between 25 and 29 years. In the metropolitan city area there were 430 new diagnoses (40 more than in 2017).

“The increase in new diagnoses – declares the councilor for social and housing policies Gabriele Rabaiotti – is not good news, but it convinces us more and more of the importance of an ever greater commitment to informing and raising awareness among citizens, especially those younger people, so that they know the risks and understand the need for prevention".