HIV/AIDS an issue for everyone

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day.

For many Penn State students, it will be passed over as just another day, just another person's problem.

Is that how you see it? Do you think that you can't be touched by HIV/AIDS?

If you are sexually active, please think again.

HIV/AIDS is everywhere, including State College. AIDS has impacted communities all over the United States, as well as internationally.

The United Nations estimated in December 2003 that there were 34.6 million to 42.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.

Since the epidemic began, an estimated 21.8 million people have died of AIDS. That's almost twice the population of Pennsylvania.

During 2003 alone, about 5 million adults and children worldwide became infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

That year also saw nearly 3 million deaths from AIDS, despite the availability of HIV anti-retroviral therapy that reduced the number of deaths in high-income countries.

At the end of the December 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 384,906 people in the United States were living with AIDS. Thirty-seven percent were white, 42 percent were black, 20 percent were Hispanic and 1 percent were of other race or ethnicity.

The theme of this year's World AIDS Day is "Have You Heard Me Today? Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS."

About half of the people living with HIV are women. The United Nations has identified an alarming global trend: Women and girls are becoming infected with HIV at a faster rate than men and boys.

A new U.N. report says that women know less than men about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, that women know less than men about how to prevent infection, and what little they do know is often rendered useless by the discrimination and violence women face.

The proportion of U.S. women infected with AIDS has also increased steadily, and the proportion infected heterosexually has surpassed the proportion infected through injection drug use.

A survey of 319 Penn State students conducted in April found that:

58 percent of students reported they had used a condom during their last sexual intercourse.
25 percent of students had been tested for HIV.
40 percent of those who hadn't been tested were sexually active but did not feel they were at risk for HIV/AIDS.
78 percent indicated they did not know where to go for free testing.
12 percent thought HIV/AIDS was a substantial problem at Penn State, while
13 percent did not think it was a problem at all.

The only way we can stop AIDS from spreading is by creating a more AIDS-aware society in which everyone takes action.

Here is what you can do:

Practice safer sex. If you consume alcohol, don't let it hinder your ability to make safer sex decisions.

Abstaining from intercourse is still the safest sex.

If you are sexually active, make your sexual health your priority. Use a condom every time.

Question. Find answers. Communicate with your partner.

Get tested. Free testing is available at the University Health Services Office of Health Promotion and Education. Call 865-6538 for an appointment.

Learn more about HIV. Attend World AIDS Day events all day tomorrow in HUB Alumni Hall. Join the UHS chat on HIV/AIDS on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at www.sa.psu.edu/uhs. Visit 237 Ritenour and ask for brochures and information sheets on HIV/AIDS, including a list of suggested Web sites.

Volunteer your time. Join the Penn State Global AIDS Initiative; visit http://web.scholars.psu.edu/~gai/ or contact Beth Hardy at bhardy@psu.edu. Or join Penn State's HIV/AIDS Risk Reduction Advisory Council (HARRAC); visit www.personal.psu.edu/users/r/a/rac270/HARRAC or contact me.

Support others in making safer sex decisions. Obtain free condoms to distribute to a group with which you are involved. Visit HARRAC's table at the World AIDS Day event, or any Wednesday at their HUB table on the ground floor.

Show your support for World AIDS Day by wearing a red ribbon tomorrow.

This year at Penn State, World AIDS Day is about reminding all of us that this is an issue for everyone. Know the facts. Educate. Motivate. Mobilize against HIV/AIDS.