MONTEGO BAY, St James – St James, the parish with the highest rate of HIV infections in Jamaica, will begin a nine-month HIV/AIDS campaign next Wednesday to raise people’s consciousness of the disease.

The campaign, which begins ahead of celebrations for the World AIDS Day on December 2 this year, is being undertaken under the theme “Stop AIDS, keep the promise”.

Wednesday’s programme will feature a free public concert at 3:00 pm. Participants will include Rising Stars’ Noddy Virtue and Renee, St James festival queen Narda Malcolm and deejay Satta Ranks. Popular radio personality and anthropologist Dr Kingsley “Ragashanti” Stewart, and gospel singers Nolan Brown and the duo “Kumplete” are also due to participate.

The concert will be preceded, at 10:00 am, by a health exposition at the Montego Bay Civic Centre, which will offer interactive booths and attractive displays by private and public sector agencies. Voluntary counselling and testing for HIV will also be available even as motivational talks are to be given by Stewart and another radio personality, Stevenson Samuels.

The day’s activities will close with a candle light ceremony, starting at 6:00 pm, hosted by Jamaica AIDS Support.