World AIDS Day 2005

So it's December 1st already! Hard to believe. Especially because it was 69 degrees in DC yesterday. I'm still missing the frigid, freeze your nose, Minnesota cold.

Today is World AIDS Day which can be emotional and overwhelming if you really think about the scope of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. How many people are infected, how many orphans there are and will be. It's very sad. The theme this year is Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise. It's aimed mostly at governments to get them to hold true to their promised aid money but it also asks individuals to get involved and make a promise to themselves, their community or to the world at large.
I had a meeting with the Global AIDS Alliance today and we were discussing prevention strategies. The situation now looks as if it's requiring a bit more than just ABC (Abstinence, Be faithful, use Condoms) We discussed how in Uganda, providing education for girls and working to keep them in school was a hugely successful method of prevention. The fact that they were in school with a social network was enough to reduce their rate of infection. Meg Riley suggested a new three letter block for prevention: EFG (Education For Girls). Now we just need to find a D. Maybe Direct Funding? Are you listening Bush?