U of M spreads the word on not spreading the disease

World AIDS Day works towards getting the knowledge out there

PHIL COOK

World AIDS Day was recognized globally on Friday, Dec. 1 and a variety of groups at the University of Manitoba were doing their part to help the cause, as University Centre was filled with information tables meant to spread the truth about AIDS.

Started in the 1980s, the day has grown to become a worldwide event. The 2006 slogan, “Stop AIDS; Keep the Promise,” is a carryover from last year, and will continue to be the slogan each year until 2010.

The slogan is in reference to the G8 Summit of 2005, where the leaders of the world’s most powerful countries pledged to ensure as near as possible to universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment worldwide by 2010.

The World Aids Campaign (WAC) hopes this initiative will not fall short like campaigns of the past, and encourages citizens of G8 countries to hold their political leaders accountable for their promise.

Groups such as the U of M World Vision Club handed out red ribbons for people to wear in support of AIDS awareness and had an informative video playing all day, while the Rainbow Pride Mosaic handed out safe-sex materials and AIDS information to promote the slogan, “Change the world, one action at a time!” They encouraged students to follow three steps: 1. talk about safer sex; 2. use protection, and 3. get tested.

Down the hall in the tunnels, the U of M Circle K Club held a bake sale and raffle, with proceeds going to the Nine Circles Community Centre — a clinic that provides primary care and treatment services for Manitobans living with AIDS.

Each group was also accepting donations for AIDS treatment programs like Nine Circles.

Elsewhere at the university, UMSU and Amnesty International presented speaker Myrna Ronald at the Student Group Resource Centre, who spoke on behalf of the Uganda Orphan Fund.

Following Ronald’s lecture, Campus UNICEF presented the film A Closer Walk, which takes a first-hand look at the world’s confrontation with the AIDS epidemic.

Though AIDS is one of the most dangerous and widespread epidemics in the world, many continue to be uniformed of the realities of the disease.

As fourth-year student Tom Light checked out some of the booths in University Centre, he joked about how many people are misinformed when it comes to AIDS. “Somebody once told me that if you sleep with 10 people, then you get rid of AIDS,” joked Light.

It is estimated that 39.5 million people worldwide are infected with AIDS. In the past year alone, there were 4.3 million new cases, which is more than any other year.