The White House hosted the Memorial Quilt for AIDS Victims for the first time

The White House hosted a Memorial Quilt for AIDS victims for the first time. This was reported by Reuters on December 1.

As the agency informed, US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden organized the first exhibition of the Memorial Quilt for AIDS victims.

It is specified that AIDS survivors, activists and family members who lost loved ones to the disease were invited to the events.

"When I look at this beautiful canvas with its bright colors, names written in large block letters, images of lives and love, I see it as a mother and think of the mothers who sewed their pain into a patchwork so that the world would remember their children," said Jill Biden.

A quilt is a traditional quilted fabric with a patchwork and applique technique on the front. However, with the rise of HIV activism, quilts with symbols and names of those who have died have been stitched into the quilt.

In many states of the USA there is an annual exhibition of memorial quilts organized by The Names Project Foundation and AIDS Memorial Quilt. They show the public how many men, women and children died during the epidemic when antiretroviral therapy was not yet available or was not as effective as it is today.

World AIDS Day is celebrated annually in Russia and other countries on December 1 to draw public attention to the spread of HIV infection. World AIDS Day was established on the initiative of WHO with the support of the UN General Assembly.