33 million — the number of people globally living with HIV.
1 million — the number of Americans living with HIV.
About 2,000 — the number of people in Lancaster County living with HIV.
HIV and AIDS aren't gone.
Yesterday was World AIDS Day. These numbers are part of the reason for AIDS Day, which aims to increase public awareness of the epidemic. Various university and communitywide events were held, including an informational booth and a candlelight memorial. A performance of "A Lullaby for Ryan: A History of HIV/AIDS in America" to benefit Camp Kindle, a summer camp for children affected by HIV/AIDS, is tonight at 7 p.m. in the City Union.
It has been 28 years since the AIDS virus was identified in the United States, and though the number of people diagnosed has stabilized, it still affects a substantial amount of people. It's an issue that affects everyone and should be a concern even for those not infected with the virus, said Bethanie Glaser, a senior education major and president of Students for Sexual Health.
"It's a human issue," Glaser said. "Everyone can find some connection to (the AIDS epidemic)."
Members of SSH set up a booth in the Nebraska Union yesterday with "Love Safely" kits and red ribbons. The kits contained condoms, lubricant and information on safer sex, while the ribbons were given to help raise awareness of the epidemic.
"We gave out the ribbons so that it's in the back of people's minds," Glaser said. "It's an issue that affects all of us."
The group, in collaboration with the University Health Center, also started a new advertising campaign that encourages students to get tested for HIV. The UHC also had a "tickets for testing" campaign, which gave out incentives for HIV testing, said Lee Heerten, a UHC special projects assistant.
"HIV has a major impact, locally and globally, and there are a lot of myths that surround (the epidemic)," Heerten said. "We're working to dispel those myths."
Members of SSH attended the "Remembering and Celebrating" World AIDS Day worship service at Saint Paul United Methodist Church, where they handed out bulletins with information about HIV and AIDS. The service consisted of 45 minutes of dance and music pieces and readings from the book of Lamentations. There was then a candle light vigil that presented the opportunity for people to say the names of those who have died or are suffering from HIV and AIDS.
The Rev. Steve Griffith, Saint Paul's minister to the community, and the Rev. Nancy Erickson of First-Plymouth Congregational Christ worked with different organizations, such as the Nebraska AIDS Project, Planned Parenthood and the Lancaster County Department of Health to provide on-site testing and counselors available for anonymous question-and-answer sessions.
"The community has tended to forget," Griffith said. "Advances in medicine have helped people to live longer and more fully with HIV, and I think as a society we have tended to assume (HIV and AIDS) has gone away, and it hasn't."
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