Prince Harry to begin new focus on fight against HIV/AIDS

Prince Harry will begin a new series of engagements and meetings designed to shine a spotlight on the ongoing need for action in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Building on his decade of experience in supporting young people with HIV in Lesotho through his charity Sentebale, The Prince is now determined to help his generation understand that the battle against the disease has not yet been won and still needs fighting. He hopes to convene leading figures in this sector and support their vital work in ensuring that everyone – and young people in particular - get the help they deserve to lead healthy and successful lives.  

In the UK more people are living with HIV than ever before with thousands of new people being diagnosed with the virus every year. In places like Southern Africa, HIV is the biggest killer of adolescents and represents a very real threat to the success of an entire generation. His Royal Highness wants to expand his own knowledge of the challenges and opportunities in the fight against the virus around the world. This will see him tackling topics including testing, treatment, and prevention as well as anti-stigma efforts that were famously championed by his mother Diana, Princess of Wales. Prince Harry believes that greater public awareness of the innovations in both testing and treatment for HIV can help save lives and he wants to do his part.

Prince Harry will begin these efforts tonight with an awareness and fundraising concert for Sentebale at Kensington Palace.

Next month, he will meet with doctors and nurses who are caring for patients in South London which is home to one of the highest concentrations of HIV-positive people in Europe. He will also visit an innovative sexual health service that encourages regular testing for HIV and outreach to the partners of newly diagnosed patients.

Later in July, Prince Harry will travel as Sentebale Patron to Durban, South Africa for the 2016 International AIDS Conference to meet leaders in the field and to speak to the assembled delegates.

Details of these engagements will be announced in due course.