On the occasion of the launch of the Sidaction donation weekend, March 26, 27 and 28, a survey conducted for the association reveals that disinformation is gaining ground among young people about AIDS.

A quarter of 15-24 year olds think, wrongly, that you can infect yourself by kissing an HIV-positive person. 

A new weekend of giving and a slogan: "The fight against HIV cannot wait."

After its cancellation last year due to the health crisis, Sidaction is back on March 26, 27 and 28.

Three days of collection, but also of mobilization and information on the fight against AIDS.

Because according to an Ifop and Bilendi survey for the Sidaction association, false information is circulating more and more about HIV.

More than 40 years after the discovery of the virus, a quarter of 15-24 year olds mistakenly believe that you can infect yourself by kissing an HIV-positive person. 

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Young people less and less well informed

While 13% of those questioned think that we can know if a person is HIV-positive just by observing them, 33% of the young people questioned believe they are poorly informed about AIDS, 22 points more than in 2009. And this lack of information has consequences: young people do not necessarily feel at risk when only a third of them say they have used a condom during sexual intercourse.

"It happened to me to have a one-night stand and not to put on a condom", confirms a young woman interviewed by Europe 1. "Besides, I regretted it immediately after."

"It is true that one has the impression that one does not risk anything, I do not know anyone of my age, of my generation, who has something like that", launches another.

And if 41% of young people think that there is less contamination in their age group, the reality is quite different.

In 2019, 15-24 people still represented 13% of new infections, a stable figure. 

In total, 173,000 people are living with HIV in France and 24,000 are still unaware of their HIV status.

But these figures may be underestimated, since in 2020 the coronavirus health crisis reduced the number of screenings by 10%. 

How to donate to Sidaction?

If you wish to make a donation to Sidaction, you can call 110 (free) until April 7 inclusive, go to sidaction.org, but also send the word "DONATION" by SMS to 92110. This last method allows you to give 5 euros.

Another possibility is to make a donation by mail by writing to Sidaction.

228, street

du Faubourg Saint-Martin 75010 Paris.