UNLV's School of Public Health, along with students on campus, will observe World AIDS Day Thursday, Dec. 1, aimed to increase awareness about the scourge of HIV and AIDS. This year's theme is "Wise up. Wear it. Where's yours?" It encourages the public to wear a red ribbon as a sign of support for people living with HIV and as a symbol of hope for the future.
Free events will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. and then again at 5 p.m. This year the School of Public Health will focus on HIV/AIDS in Nevada by bringing attention to the new state plan for the prevention and control of the disease in Nevada. Representatives from Clark County Health District and the Nevada State Health Division will present the newest information on HIV/AIDS in Nevada at the Rod Lee Bigelow Health Sciences building at UNLV.
"All of our campus community should be aware of their risk for HIV infection," said Mary Guinan, dean of the School of Public Health at UNLV. "It is estimated that the two-thirds of persons in the United States who have HIV do not know it. Therefore they may be unknowingly transmitting HIV infection." Dr. Guinan urges those who are concerned to be tested as soon as possible. The student health center will conduct free testing all day Dec. 1.
A candlelight vigil gets underway at 5 p.m. on the UNLV campus in front of the Moyer Student Union. The School of Public Health and Dr. Melva Thompson-Robertson will then host a town hall meeting for students on campus where representatives from government and community-based organizations working on the disease will answer questions.
UNLV's Division of Student Life Committee has created The Field of Flags, which will be displayed on the north field of the UNLV campus beginning Nov. 28. The flags will represent those who are living with HIV or AIDS and those who have lost the battle.
According to UNAIDS estimates, there were 37.2 million adults and 2.2 million children living with HIV at the end of 2004, and during the year 4.9 million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are killed by AIDS before they are 35.
World AIDS Day is observed throughout the world on Dec. 1 every year since it was organized by the United Nations in 1988. The purpose is to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and to urge leaders to help relieve suffering for those afflicted with the disease, and to increase efforts to prevent HIV transmission.
