Monday, December 1, 2008

A World AIDS Day Message

Hello amigos/ amigas,

Today is just not another day that your rent is due. I am writing to raise awareness for the 3.3 million people living with HIV worldwide on behalf of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of HIV/AIDS Policy’s AIDS.gov. Members of the BlogCatalog network are sending messages through the blogosphere for Bloggers Unite For World AIDS Day.

Even if just 10 percent of the members get involved, we can reach an estimated 4 million blog readers. And if half of our members participate, we can reach 20 million. And if all bloggers participate, we can reach the entire world.

Nearly half of all AIDS cases in the U.S. involve people 13 to 24 years of age. More than 250,000 are estimated to be HIV positive and not know it. And more than 1 million are estimated to have AIDS. It affects every country, city, and town in the world. And, the most frightening thing about it is that is going largely unchecked. In fact, that is one of the reasons that worldaidscampaign.org is continuing its "leadership" theme, which it developed after learning that many leaders who promised to support AIDS were not keeping their promises.

So, get tested, do your homework and contribute to the cause to prevent AIDS. And by doing that, you might not only save someone, but save someone close to you.

Check out a video from the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City where people from around the world made their pledges to stop AIDS. More videos here.