A week from Monday, Prince Harry will be visiting Mildmay Hospital. Located in east London, Mildmay is an HIV-dedicated hospital and charity.
The 14 December visit will be part of the official opening of their new purpose-built facilities.
Since 1988, Mildmay has been a leader in specialist HIV service delivery and care after becoming the first dedicated hospice for those who were dying of AIDS-related illnesses.
Prince Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales made many visits to Mildmay hospital in her time, both privately and officially. While visiting the hospital, Harry will see how their work has changed significantly over the last two decades. This is primarily due to advances made in medication, such as antiretroviral drugs. Mildmay’s focus has now transferred from end-of-life care to rehabilitation with the help of these advances.
Now the only centre in Europe, Mildmay is dedicated to treatment, rehabilitation and medical care for those with difficult HIV-related health conditions, HIV-associated brain injury included- a condition that is still relatively unknown to most.
Like his mother was, Prince Harry is very aware of the nearly 30-year stigma around HIV and how damaging it can be for those living with the disease. Working to change that, his charity Sentebale is helping people understand and learn about HIV/AIDS in Lesotho in southern Africa, they are also encouraging people to get the support they need.
After the success of his recent Lesotho trip, Prince Harry is “keen to lend his voice to help tackle the stigma in a wider context outside of Lesotho” according to a press release sent out from Kensington Palace.
Through his work, Harry has created relationships with many international HIV charities which he hopes will help his cause.
In the United Kingdom, the overall number of people living with HIV continues to increase, while the number of those living undiagnosed with HIV remains high.
