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Reflecting on the 25^th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic, Donna Gallagher, Principal Investigator/Director of the New England AIDS Training and Education Center, points out how different today’s reality is from expectations at the time when the virus was first identified. “People thought then that a vaccine would be invented and the disease would be around for just a short time; that the HIV virus would be transmitted only by unprotected sex, shared drug needles, and contaminated blood products and thus would remain confined to specific groups in the population. In reality, there are 40,000 new cases every year in the US, while the cases in the developing world have been at pandemic levels for a long time. And, everywhere, women are dying of AIDS at a much higher rate and dying faster.” For the impact of AIDS in the US, see Newsweek anniversary issue: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12663345/site/newsweek/

For children in the developing world the picture is devastating: millions of children are living with mothers who are ill and dying, millions are already orphaned, and millions are otherwise affected by HIV/AIDS �" whether infected themselves or stigmatized and without adequate access to education, medical care, or nutrition. “In addition,” Ms. Gallagher reminds us, “not only are their parents dying, but their teachers, nurses, and other caregivers are dying of AIDS as well, at the same tragic rate.” So, for the children, personal tragedy is further amplified by societal tragedy.

At the 2007 World Forum in Kuala Lumpur, the World Forum Foundation will be hosting a summit meeting on HIV/AIDS and the Young Child for leaders in this field such as Donna Gallagher. The summit will focus on identifying viable strategies that support the families, caregivers, and communities of orphans and vulnerable children. ExchangeEveryDay will periodically post reports on the progress in organizing this summit.

Contributed by Yasmina Vinci

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