Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation to host 36th annual AIDS walk [Video]

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — AIDS isn’t a disease from the 1980s. In 2022, 326 people died of HIV/AIDS-related causes.

“Absolutely HIV and AIDS is absolutely still a thing,” said Monique Vallery, the Chief Development Officer for Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation or SAAF.

SAAF advocates for the health of LGBTQ+ Arizonans and those living with HIV, which Vallery says could affect anyone.

“HIV does not discriminate. It doesn’t care race, it doesn’t care religion, it doesn’t care politics, it doesn’t care sexuality, it does not care who you sleep with,” she said.

For 36 years, SAAF has hosted AIDSWalk to educate people about HIV/AIDS and destigmatize the disease.

Community organizer John Lopez said he’s seen people be stigmatized through the years.

“Just seeing what my friends have gone through, and it’s hard,” he said. “It’s difficult. I remember being with someone who said they had HIV- this was back in the …