December 1, 2009 is recognized as World AIDS Day. To help raise awareness about HIV and AIDS community members are requested to wear a red ribbon during the month of December. As of Sept. 30, 2009 1,386 Maine people have tested positive for HIV/AIDS. In Aroostook County there are currently 38 people diagnosed positive with HIV/AIDS.
According to Advocates for Youth, this day was first set aside in December 1988, to raise and increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education about AIDS. World AIDS Day’s importance is to remind people that HIV and AIDS have not gone away, and that much still needs to be done to help reduce the rate of people contracting this virus. HIV has been around for more than two decades and reportedly 4,261 people are diagnosed each month with this virus worldwide. HIV destroys the body’s immune system which makes a person more vulnerable to other infections, including common cold or the flu virus.
World AIDS Day, originally organized by United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), reported that an estimated 30.8 million adults and 2 million children were living with HIV at the end of 2007, while 2 million people died from the disease – a high global trend.
HIV testing is available at ACAP Health Services family planning sites in Fort Kent, Presque Isle, and Houlton. Appointments can be made by calling 1-800-432-7881 and asking for the health center nearest you. All testing is anonymous and needle-free.
ACAP encourages everyone to get tested. Know your status. There is a $26.50 fee associated with the testing.
Wendy Page, ACAP community education specialist, can be reached at 768-3026.
Wear a red ribbon to support AIDS Day
By Wendy Page
