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A statement issued by Kensington Palace said Harry would attend the event in his capacity as Patron of Sentebale, a charity based in Lesotho in Africa which helps youngsters affected by the AIDS/HIV epidemic.
Harry founded the charity together with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho’s Basotho Royal Family in 2006 after a visit there in which he was moved by the plight of the country’s youngsters.
The statement said: “The International AIDS Conference (AIDS2018) is the largest conference on any global health issue in the world.
“First convened during the peak of the AIDS epidemic in 1985, it continues to provide a unique forum for the intersection of science, advocacy, and human rights.
“Each conference is an opportunity to strengthen policies and programmes that ensure an evidence-based response to the epidemic.”
Harry previously attended the Conference in Durban in 2016, and will be joining Sentebale’s ‘Let Youth Lead’ advocates this afternoon to discuss the challenges of young people living with HIV and those affected by the epidemic in southern Africa.
The statement added: “The Let Youth Lead advocacy programme aims to engage policymakers to drive positive change in HIV interventions that better support the younger generation.
“His Royal Highness will then attend a meeting with influential leaders from organisations working in HIV response.
“On the second day of his visit, The Duke will join a plenary session with Sir Elton John to launch a new coalition of global AIDS funders – the MenStar Coalition.”
Founding partners of this group include the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the US government’s PEPFAR programme, the Global Fund for AIDS, TB & Malaria, UNITAID, Johnson & Johnson, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Gilead and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The statement said: “These organisations represent some of the most critical stakeholders working on HIV globally.
“The MenStar Coalition’s first initiative will be to launch a new HIV self-testing campaign aimed at young men in Kenya.”
Diana is widely credited with breaking down taboos about HIV and AIDS during the 1980s.
In 1987, she opened the UK’s first purpose-built unite at London’s Middlesex Hospital which exclusively looked after people infected with the virus.
During her visit, she famously shook hands with a man suffering from the illness without gloves, dispelling damaging myths about the way it was transmitted.
The compassionate gesture made headlines around the world at a time when comparatively little was known about the illness.
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