Prince Harry follows in Princess Diana’s footsteps as he continues her fight against HIV
In 1987, Princess Diana shocked the world as she shook hands with an AIDS patient in London - and Prince Harry is continuing the fight against the disease
PRINCE Harry has followed in Princess Diana's footsteps and is continuing the fight against HIV as he attends The International AIDS Conference in the Netherlands.
The Prince is attending the gathering on July 23 and 24 with Let Youth Lead Advocates from Sentebale, the charity he set up in 2006 which means "forget me not".
The Duke of Sussex, 33, is patron of the charity, which he founded to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.
In 1987, Princess Diana shocked the world as she shook hands with an AIDS patient at Middlesex Hospital in London at the opening of the UK's first treatment unit.
The gesture, which challenged the belief that HIV or AIDS could be transmitted by touch, showed Diana's compassion for other people and sparked the beginning of her work with people affected by the disease.
Prince Harry is joining the conference for two days to help highlight the struggles faced by teenagers who have the disease.
The conference takes place from July 23 to July 27 and will welcome around 18,000 participants from across the world, including scientists, activists, health providers and policy makers.
President of the International AIDS Society and AIDS 2018 Co-Chair Linda-Gail Bekker said they are "honoured" to be joined by the Duke of Sussex at the conference.
"His genuine commitment to the fight against AIDS is inspiring a whole new generation of leaders and reminding the world that AIDS is not over. We are so grateful to him for his leadership in the HIV response and the strong collaboration between Sentebale and the International AIDS Society," she said.
The CEO of Sentebale Cathy Ferrier added: "This year, we are joined by Sentebale youth advocates from Lesotho and Botswana who work to raise the voice of their generation through Sentebale’s Let Youth Lead programme."
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"Their involvement in the conference reflects the progress Sentebale has made in the global response to addressing adolescent HIV since Durban in 2016 and I am delighted that they will be leading the conversation alongside our Patron The Duke of Sussex in Amsterdam," she said.
The Duke previously attended The 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, participating in a special session with Sir Elton John discussing issues facing young people living with HIV.
To raise awareness of HIV and AIDS, the Duke has also been publicly tested for the disease several times.
In 2016, he said: "Just by going down and having a simple blood test myself, there have been requests for home testing kits of about 500% or something. For me, this is completely achievable."
He also spoke of how Princess Diana is his inspiration for his charity work abroad.
"I wanted to do something to make my mother proud," he said.
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