The city of Barcelona has hosted, under the motto “Remember the past to face the future”, the 32nd edition of the International AIDS Memorial, organized by Projecte dels NOMS with the support of Checkpoint. Gemma Tarafa, Deputy for Public Health at the Barcelona Provincial Council, represented the institution and highlighted the collective resilience—a testimony of overcoming in the face of over 30 million people who have died of AIDS worldwide and more than 10,000 lost in Catalonia. The event included the reading of names and testimonials from relatives and friends in one of the city’s most symbolic permanent spaces. 
An act of remembrance and commitment
Representatives from the Department of Health participated, including Manel Balcells, Carmen Cabezas, and Joan Colom, who offered a floral tribute on behalf of the Government of Catalonia. This institutional presence underscores Catalan society’s commitment to fighting HIV infection, with the goal of eliminating it as a public health issue by 2030. 
Institutional presence and awareness
As in previous editions, Ferran Pujol, director of Projecte dels NOMS, advocated for faster access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce new infections—around 600 cases annually in Catalonia—and called on the Health Department to strengthen the response and cut waiting lists. 
Future challenges: PrEP and community engagement
The International AIDS Memorial has been held every year in Barcelona since 1994, one year after the event began in San Francisco in 1983, and has become a powerful collective symbol of remembrance, dignity, and hope.
