Sidaction: a call for mobilization among young people in Côte-d’Or

“For love, make HIV disappear”: the slogan is that of Sidaction which starts this Friday March 25, 2022, until Sunday March 27, 2022. As every year, the objective of the three days of mobilization is to raise funds and raise awareness of the challenges of the fight against AIDS . On this occasion, the AIDES association invites those who wish to do so to be screened, through the testimony of Jérémy Léonard, the coordinator of the association in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

France Bleu Bourgogne – Do you have the feeling that there is more talk at the moment of the fight against the AIDS virus?

Jeremy Leonard – No ! The Covid-19 epidemic has completely overshadowed the fight against AIDS. We’ve only been talking about the Covid-19 pandemic for two years now. One epidemic must not hide another! We need to bring the subject back to center stage.

Is it time to question the situation with the next presidential election which is approaching?

We are starting to challenge the presidential candidates with our proposals. We will also speak to the candidates of the next legislative elections. In total, the AIDES association makes 94 proposals to put an end to AIDS. And we realize that in the presidential election, currently, there is no candidate who does not make concrete proposals to put an end to AIDS in France.

What do you concretely expect from the candidates? What should be proposed to change this fight against HIV?

In particular, we must act against medical deserts, or facilitate the change of civil status for transgender people, by promoting access to screening and treatment for HIV-positive or HIV-negative people, with the preventive treatment of Prep. It is also necessary to promote the availability of condoms, to inform young people about the modes of contamination with AIDS, and to inform them of the places where they can be tested. Sidaction revealed that young people are less and less informed about where to get tested.

However, young people have all the means to get information today with applications and mobile phones. How do you explain this difference?

I think that there are in particular failures at the level of National Education. In colleges or high schools, these questions of sexual life, emotional life, reproductive health must be approached without taboo, with a lot of pedagogy. These questions must be studied so that young people know where to take a screening test, for example.

France Bleu Bourgogne: The Dijon Academy is not doing enough there too, a bit like the presidential candidates?

It’s the same principle. Everyone needs to do their part to make progress in the fight against HIV. The earlier we detect a person, the sooner we can put them on treatment. In this case, she will no longer contaminate her partners during sex without a condom. Because it remains complicated to set up an effective treatment at a late stage of the disease. So detecting early is better to talk about it!

Sidaction is being held this weekend from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 March. The slogan is “for love, let’s make HIV disappear.” What happens if we want to participate and make a donation in Côte-d’Or?

Call 110 and go to the Sidaction site. You will find all the places where you can take a screening test on the Facebook and Instagram page of the Aides association. The screening test is quick, it’s a small prick on the fingertip. You have the result in a few minutes.