Red scarves around Moncton aim to raise AIDS awareness, improve HIV testing

MONCTON – Hanging red scarves around Moncton is one way Debby Warren hopes to raise HIV awareness, and get Atlantic Canadians faster testing for the virus that causes AIDS.

Warren is the executive director of AIDS Moncton and says point-of-care-testing for HIV is a quick blood test that can be administered in numerous locations.

READ MORE: General HIV testing only solution to stop epidemic: Vancouver doctor

“We want testing to start to be normalized for people to be aware that they should be seeking the testing and we need it so that it’s accessible,” she said.

Warren says the service isn’t available in Atlantic Canada and that needs to change.

“This is on the spot and within a minute you can have your blood test results,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is on the spot and within a minute you can have your blood test results," she said.

Warren was hanging the red scarves around Moncton for World AIDS Day. The scarves represent a red ribbon that symbolizes awareness and support for people living with HIV.

The event was organized by the New Brunswick Partnership of Community Based AIDS Organizations. In Moncton, the event attracted about a dozen volunteers.

One of them was Kate Cogswell. She said she got to know several AIDS patients while volunteering at a soup kitchen.

“It’s such a terrible disease and there’s not a lot of resources for people so to be able to give back in any kind of way is awesome for me,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's such a terrible disease and there's not a lot of resources for people so to be able to give back in any kind of way is awesome for me," she said.

The group is encouraging people who walk by the scarves to put them on as a show of solidarity.

HIV continues to be a serious issue across Canada. AIDS Moncton says around 71,300 Canadians are living with HIV and an estimated 25 per cent don’t know they’ve been infected.