WHEREAS, December 1, 2004 marks the seventeenth annual observance of World AIDS Day, which was originally established in 1988 after an international summit of health ministers called for a new spirit of social tolerance and a greater exchange of information on HIV/AIDS; and

WHEREAS, almost five million people became newly infected with HIV in 2003, marking the greatest number of new infections in a single year in the history of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic; and

WHEREAS, more than 38 million people are currently living with HIV worldwide, and nearly three million people died of AIDS during 2003; and

WHEREAS, there have been more than 20 million AIDS deaths since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981; and

WHEREAS, an estimated 15 million children living today have been orphaned due to AIDS, having lost one or both parents to the epidemic; and

WHEREAS, girls between the ages of 15 and 24 are at increased risk for HIV infection around the world, including some countries where their rates of HIV infection are five times higher than among young men; and

WHEREAS, the theme of World AIDS Day 2004 is “Women, Girls, HIV and AIDS”, which reflects a focus on how the effects of HIV/AIDS have significantly increased among women and girls, who now make up half of all people living with HIV worldwide; and

WHEREAS, Orange County has experienced an 30% increase in AIDS cases among females since 1997 as the rates of new HIV infections impact women and communities of color at disproportionately higher rates; and

WHEREAS, prevention remains the only sure method of reversing the toll of human lives and suffering and reducing the HIV epidemic globally and locally.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Public Policy Committee of AIDS Services Foundation Orange County joins with its Board of Directors and professional staff to call on elected officials and policy makers at all levels of government, together with community leaders and citizens of the world, to increase awareness about HIV, to promote HIV testing, to advance proven and effective HIV prevention strategies, to provide an effective system of HIV care for everyone in need, and to take action to engage in a dialogue to bring about tolerance, understanding and compassion in Orange County and around the world for everyone who is impacted and affected by HIV and AIDS.