AIDS quilt on display on national mall
Quilt in DC in honors of International AIDS conference
The entire AIDS quilt will be on display in Washington, D.C., this week as the International AIDS Conference is being held in our nation's capital, the first time in more than 20 years the conference has been in the U.S.
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Julie Rhoad
Names Project Foundation
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Julie Rhoad
Names Project Foundation
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This week, the International AIDS conference is being held in our nation's capital.
It's the first time in more than 20 years the conference has been in the United States.
AIDS experts from all over the globe will be attending. More than 30 million people worldwide have died from the disease.
But the one representative that has come to truly depict the struggle and heartache of living with and dying from AIDS, will not say a word. It's the AIDS Quilt.
Here's Elizabeth Cohen with today's Health Minute.
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WEIGHING MORE THAN 54 TONS AND MEASURING 1-POINT-3 MILLION SQUARE FEET OR ABOUT 50 MILES, THE AIDS QUILT HAS BECOME THE SYMBOL OF THE FIGHT AGAINST THE ILLNESS. SINCE ITS INCEPTION 25 YEARS AGO, THE QUILT NOW INCLUDES 48-THOUSAND PANELS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. THE PIECES OF CLOTH ARE USUALLY DESIGNED BY LOVED ONES. SOME PANELS JUST HAVE NAMES, OTHERS INCLUDE MEMENTOS FROM THE PERSON'S LIFE. EACH PANEL IS PERSONAL, POIGNANT AND POWERFUL.
"I think that it is impossible to look at these panels and not become engaged in the humanity, in the story itself. "
IN HONOR OF THIS YEAR' INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE, THE QUILT IS BEING UNFOLDED BETWEEN THE U.S. CAPITOL AND THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. BUT BECAUSE OF THE VAST NUMBER OF PANELS, PARTS OF THE QUILT HAVE ALSO BEEN ON DISPLAY IN 50 AREAS AROUND THE CITY.
"The reason we are doing this, is because science has identified and articulated new pathways to ending AIDS. And that science is important for all of us to be aware of and embrace."
SOME SAY, TO LOOK AT THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PANELS AND TO UNDERSTAND JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM AIDS IS BREATH-TAKING. SCIENTISTS BELIEVE WE MAY BE ON THE VERGE OF A POSSIBLE CURE.
BUT UNTIL THAT TIME, THE QUILT WILL KEEP GROWING, REMINDING THE WORLD OF THE INCREDIBLE LOSS THIS DISEASE HAS CAUSED ALONG WITH THE HOPE FOR A CURE IN THE FUTURE.
FOR TODAY'S HEALTH MINUTE, I'M ELIZABETH COHEN.
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