Deputy mayor shaves hair in light of World AIDS Day in Sandwell
A Deputy Mayor has shaved his hair to show solidarity with people living with HIV and to raise funds for charities.
Councillor Richard Jones shaved his hair and beard on Wednesday night outside Sandwell council house, as part of the ‘Brave the Shave’ campaign.
He raised over £270, with the monies shared equally between the Sandwell Mayor’s charity, St John Ambulance, and the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Speaking before his head shave, Cllr Jones said: “On World AIDS Day, I invite the people of Sandwell to join me in supporting people living with and affected by AIDS.
“I was a bit nervous getting my hair cut. I remember in a poll between councillors that I was voted as having the best hair.
“This is for a bit of fun, but it is also a serious topic. I want to remind everyone how easy it is to get tested for AIDS and to ‘know your status’.
“It’s important for my community to remove the shame and stigma associated with HIV and AIDS.
“The pandemic has highlighted, just like during the AIDS crisis, how diseases exploit similar societal weaknesses, like divides along the lines of race, class and power.
“I hope with the technologies used to create these amazing coronavirus vaccines, the same technologies will make sure HIV will be eradicated from our society.”
Sandwell council also lit up the council house after 4pm to show its commitment as a local authority and employer to supporting people living with HIV.
It comes after a HIV action plan, backed by over £23 million of government funding, aims to cut new infections by 80% by 2025 and end infections and deaths by 2030.
A total of £3.5 million is being put into a National HIV Prevention Programme over 2021-2024 under the plan, launched to mark World Aids Day.
Moves will also be made to increase access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medicine to reduce someone’s risk of getting the virus.
Funding of £20 million is to be spent over the next three years to roll out opt-out testing in NHS emergency departments within local authority areas with five or more cases of HIV per 1,000 residents.
This will make it easier to reach Black African groups as well as heterosexual, gay, and bisexual men, who might not attend sexual health services regularly and are missing opportunities to test for HIV.
The plan also aims to ensure people quickly receive treatment to stop them transmitting the infection and help is to be offered to people living with HIV to stay in treatment.
A new memorial in Birmingham city centre has also been unveiled in dedication to the people who died during the AIDS pandemic.
The sculpture will be completed by June 2022 and will stand six-metres-tall in the newly developed Hippodrome Square currently under construction in Southside.
Birmingham AIDS & HIV Memorial group (BAHM) hopes the monument will serve as a “long-lasting” memorial to those who lost their lives during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.
World AIDS Day is an annual opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS by increasing awareness, tackling prejudice and improving education.
