PRAYER FOR TODAY
Gracious God and lover of all that you have made:
May the imperishable light of your divine knowledge shine in our hearts and in all people.
Open the eyes of our understanding that we may apprehend your holy Word.
Implant in us likewise an awe of your Presence and Love, that, abandoning the power of evil in our lives, we may pursue a spiritual life, thinking and doing that which is pleasing in your sight.
For you are the enlightening of our souls and bodies, of the whole earth and cosmos,
O Christ our God, and to you we render glory, now and forever.
Adapted St. John Chrysostom


AND DELIVER US FROM EVIL: WORLD AIDS DAY 2003

UNITED STATES
"From 1999 through 2002, the number of new H.I.V. cases soared by 26 percent among Hispanics and by 17 percent among men who have sex with men, while the increase in new cases over all for that period was 5.1 percent, according to the study...

Because more effective treatments are available, there seems to be a perception particularly in the gay community that H.I.V. is a manageable disease," said Dr. Robert Janssen, director of the division of H.I.V. and AIDS prevention at the centers. "Most of the increase in the Latino community is due to men having sex with men. I think the disease just doesn't have the fear that it once carried."

Several other groups also showed increases in the rate of diagnosis. African-Americans still make up the largest portion of new cases, at 55 percent, while whites accounted for 8 percent of the new cases, the study found. The numbers for men in general went up 7 percent.

'There's such a striking disparity among Hispanics and blacks that we're obviously not doing a good enough job of targeting them and conveying the right idea," he said. "Here's a population that is not responding to the messages we're sending. Perhaps it is because that message is getting stale.'

More than 850,000 Americans are infected with H.I.V., the greatest number since the AIDS epidemic started in the early 1980's. According to the centers, about 40,000 people in the United States are infected with H.I.V. every year."
NY Times

GLOBAL
Authors of the report estimate that 40 million people worldwide are now infected. In 2003, 5 million people were newly infected and 3 million died of AIDS.

And even though international responses to the epidemic are greater than ever, they remain inadequate for the scope of the problem, which in many countries disproportionately affects young people, especially women...

The report, issued in advance of World AIDS Day on December 1, warns that the low overall prevalence of HIV in many Asian and Pacific countries masks more severe outbreaks in concentrated regions.

Meanwhile, AIDS activists are increasingly denouncing the gap between the U.S. Administration's publicized intent to fund AIDS programs and their behind-the-scenes efforts to cut funding.

David Bryden, with the Global AIDS Alliance, also decries the failure of the U.S. to promote collaborative international approaches, historically proven effective in eradicating the world of other scourges, such as smallpox and polio.

Instead, he told Reuters Health, the U.S. has decided to "apply 90% of its funding to U.S. agencies heavily concentrating on only 14 countries." The spotty funding leaves out many heavily affected countries, such as Malawi, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, the Bahamas and Dominican Republic. Because this approach is less cost-effective, he added, it will result in "wasted dollars."

The Global AIDS Alliance has developed a detailed Stop AIDS Platform, endorsed by more than 100 different organizations and presidential candidates. It is committed to increase funding of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria's goal of universal treatment by 2012, and increased debt cancellation for impoverished nations.
Reuters