HIV/AIDS Commission calls for end to stigma and discrimination

The National HIV/AIDS Commission joined forces with bandleader Varia Williams and designer Omowale Stuart to sensitise Barbadians about HIV amid the revellry of Kadooment Day.

Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Cynthia Forde and executive director of the National HIV/AIDS Commission Jacqui Wiltshire Forde joined the group on the road.

Under the theme Rainbow Love, the band, well decked out in red and white, urged Barbadians to play their part to end stigma and discrimination.

The Commission has expressed concern that vulnerable groups are still being marginalized, and this has forced the disease underground and out of the reach of HIV services.

Director of the Commission Lynn Armstrong stressed that every person has a right to dignity and the pursuit of happiness.