The community must embrace its role in ending any vestige of stigma and discrimination around HIV/Aids in Bermuda, the Minister of Health said today.

Kim Wilson told attendees at a World Aids Day event at Victoria Park in Hamilton that fear presented boundaries to getting care for the conditions — barriers that could be removed through “education, awareness campaigns and active involvement”.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus is an infection that attacks the body’s immune system, while Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome refers to a collection of illnesses caused by the virus.

Ms Wilson highlighted progress against HIV in Bermuda, such as eliminating mother-to-child transmissions.

However, she explained: “To achieve our goal of ending HIV/Aids, we must continue to reach out to all populations: LGBTQ+ individuals, young people and adolescents, pregnant woman at prenatal screenings and those at risk due to socio-economic factors. No one in Bermuda should be left behind.”

Ms Wilson added that the theme, “Overcoming Disruption: Transforming the Aids Response” was a reminder of “the serious setbacks the world has faced in the fight against HIV, setbacks driven by reduced funding and a lack of global understanding — yet it also calls us to action”.

Joshua Samuels, the executive director of the LGBTQ+ charity OutBermuda, said myths had shaped stigma around HIV on the island for decades.

He added: “One of the most harmful is that HIV is the ‘gay disease’ — that has never been true. We know HIV affects people of every orientation, gender and background.”

Ann Marie Moore, the co-ordinator of the Department of Health’s sexual and reproductive health programme, earlier discussed these myths with The Royal Gazette.

She said: “Because HIV is lifestyle linked, people may misconstrue how you caught HIV.

“You don’t have to be promiscuous to catch it. It can be the one and only time that you have sex that you pick that up.”

Mr Samuels added: “We’ve made real progress. Treatment has changed lives. People with HIV can and do thrive, but stigma remains.

“On this small island where everyone knows everyone, stigma can feel louder than fact and some still avoid testing because they fear exposure more than the virus.”

He highlighted that OutBermuda’s policy manifesto called for stronger confidentiality in healthcare, inclusive and accurate sexual health education and expanding mental health support for LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV.

Mr Samuels explained: “These steps help people seek care safely but this work does not sit only with institutions.

“It belongs with each of us, parents willing to have honest conversations with their children, workplaces supporting people without judgment, communities replacing silence with compassion.”

Carolyn Armstrong, the executive director of HIV/Aids charity Star, also addressed the gathering.

Dr Armstrong highlighted a giant quilt made by Celeste DeShields, who has lived with HIV since 1993.

Each frame on the quilt represents a life affected by the conditions.

Dr Armstrong said: “This is Bermuda — we don’t see each other as individuals when it comes to fighting a war that we can overcome. No man is an island, no man stands alone; each man’s joy is joy to me and each man’s dream is my own.”