In a New York Times article, Kofi A. Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations, said, "Every day lost is a day when 10,000 more people become infected with HIV. We can beat this disease, and we must."
Shelley White, a Teaching assistant in the sociology department, repeated these poignant lines last Tuesday night at the panel discussion "AIDS Today," sponsored by the AIDS Awareness Committee (ACC). This panel was a part of their weeklong promotion of World AIDS Day and took place on Saturday.
The campaign sought to spread awareness of the gravity of the HIV/AIDS situation on a global and local scale. Events, such as the panel, and the showing of the movie "3 Needles," discussed the impact of HIV/AIDS on various groups of people. The goal of these events was to illustrate the broad span of people who are affected by HIV/AIDS.
"I think [AIDS] is a complex and pressing issue that involves several groups. People come to the issue from many different backgrounds," said Jessica Riggin, AAC co-president and A&S '08.
The week culminated with a benefit concert on Sunday night featuring several musical and dance groups from Boston College. The proceeds of the concert went to Camp Safe Haven, a refuge for children whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS. The purpose of all of the events was to spread knowledge about HIV/AIDS and its many effects.
Many of the speakers at the "AIDS Today" panel emphasized the need to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention. An estimated 2.1 million people worldwide will die of the virus this year; approximately half of those people will be under the age of 25.
Dr. Daniel Kuritzkes, the director of AIDS research at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said the AIDS virus will not be disappearing any time soon. He said that recently, AIDS has transitioned from an epidemic to an endemic, meaning that the number of infected people has hit a very high plateau. This number does not discriminate.
2008 Woodie Awards
