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The message was the same, whether conveyed through charts and graphs or heart wrenching personal stories. AIDS kills and everyone in the world is at risk for infection. The current status of the world AIDS epidemic is statistically bleak but hope remains.

NT's Division of Equity and Diversity hosted a panel discussion Tuesday night in preparation for World AIDS Day, which officially begins Dec. 1. Twelve speakers gave presentations on various aspects of HIV and AIDS to a crowd of students in the University Union's Golden Eagle Suite. This was the first of several campus-wide activities aimed at educating students about the virus. World AIDS Day events will carry on throughout this week.

NT's Dr. Joseph Oppong started off last night's discussion with a round of jaw-dropping statistics.

Approximately 20 million people have died of AIDS since the disease's first appearance on the global scene in the 1980s. Thirty-five million people are currently living with the disease and, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 31,293 people aged 13 to 24 were classified as new AIDS cases in 2004. Half of those new infections have been among blacks. "We're talking about lives here, not just numbers," Oppong said.

Oppong reiterated that HIV and AIDS disproportionately affect blacks and added that "high risk" social groups are often more aware of their HIV status than people grouped in moderate risk categories. "People who are involved in male to male sex or intravenous drug use see themselves at high risk," Oppong said.

NT's Dr. Chwee-Lye Chng followed Oppong's presentation with numbers that hit home. Seventy percent of the states with the highest percent of AIDS cases are in the south. Seventy-two percent of all American metropolitan areas with HIV rates above the national average are in the south. The prevalence of other sexually transmitted diseases is also higher.

"HIV appears to be growing at a faster rate in the south," Chng said. "As long as you are sexually active you are at risk." NT's Dr. Ami R. Moore relayed her findings from a study she conducted in Togo, a country in West Africa. Moore interviewed AIDS patients and divided them into three groups according to their views on spreading the disease to others.

"In Africa, a lot of people don't get tested," Moore said. "They don't have anti-viral therapies readily available like the U.S. There is also a great stigma." Moore pointed out that, in Africa, HIV is spread primarily through heterosexual sex.

NT's Dr. Mark Vosvick wrapped up the panel discussion with advice on primary and secondary HIV prevention. Vosvick said one of the main avenues for primary protection is to use a condom -- properly. Secondary prevention involves improving the quality of life for HIV and AIDS patients and their loved ones.

"Get informed," Chng said. "Get tested. Get treated. And get involved."

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