Countries, organizations and media outlets are scheduled to hold events, release publications or air HIV/AIDS-related content to mark World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. Summaries appear below.

Events

• Thousands of people protested in India to demand the provision of low-cost treatment for HIV-positive people living with later-stages of the virus (AFP/Yahoo! News, 12/1).
  
  
• Dozens of people at the St. Catherine the Great Martyr Church in Moscow lit candles and wore red ribbons (AP/International Herald Tribune, 12/1).
  
  
• AIDS advocates in Thailand plan to create a ribbon of 25,000 condoms to raise awareness about the epidemic, and earlier in the day hundreds of advocates marched through downtown Bangkok (AP/International Herald Tribune, 11/30).
  
  
• Numerous events are scheduled in Washington, D.C., including the launch of the Life Guard project, in which six community groups will leave bags with condoms and information in target neighborhoods in the city (Levine, Washington Post, 12/1).
  

Publications

• "The Demographic Impact of HIV/AIDS in South Africa: National and Provincial Indicators for 2006": The Actuarial Society of South Africa and South Africa's Medical Research Council released their biannual report. The report found that an estimated 950 people in the country died daily of AIDS-related illnesses, 1,400 people became infected with the virus daily, there were 530,000 new HIV infections in 2006, and 15-year-olds have a 56% chance of dying before age 60, compared with a 29% chance in 1990 (Nullis, AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/30).
  
  
• "A Faith-Based Response to HIV in Southern Africa: The Choose To Care Initiative": Robert Vitillo and colleagues from the Catholic Medical Mission Board released a report describing the work of a collaboration of faith-based groups to increase health care services in Southern Africa (Catholic Medical Mission Board release, 11/30).
  
  
• "HIV/AIDS and Work: Global Estimates, Impact on Children and Youth and Response": The International Labour Organization on Friday released a report estimating that nearly 24 million HIV-positive people were in the global workforce in 2005, 67% of whom live in Africa. The report found that giving HIV-positive workers access to antiretroviral drugs could extend the amount of time they are able to work by two years (Reuters, 12/1).
  
  
• "IMAGE Study," Lancet: The journal in its Nov. 30 online edition published the IMAGE Study -- which stands for Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity Study -- which said that circumcision, microbicides and microfinance are some of the most promising ways to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS (Cheng, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 11/30).
  
  
• "Missed Opportunities for Earlier Diagnosis of HIV Infection -- South Carolina, 1997-2005": For the study, published in the Dec. 1 issue of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, W. Duffus and colleagues examine two databases in South Carolina -- the HIV/AIDS Reporting System and the state Office of Research and Statistics -- from January 2001 through December 2005. According to the study, there were numerous "missed opportunities" to diagnose HIV-positive people during early stages of the virus (Reuters Health, 11/30).
  
  
• "Promoting Protection and Pleasure: Amplifying the Effectiveness of Barriers Against Sexually Transmitted Infections and Pregnancy," Lancet: Anne Philpott of the U.K. Department for International Development and colleagues examined evidence of how a discussion focusing on pleasure can promote male and female condom use. According to the authors, the "[p]romotion of pleasure in use of male and female condoms -- alongside safe sex messages -- can facilitate consistent use of condoms and boost their effectiveness to protect against" sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and pregnancy (Philpott et al., Lancet, 12/1).
  
  
• "Worlds AIDS Day 2006 Resources," Kaiser Family Foundation: The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released several new and updated resources, including new data on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. by state. The release of the new resources is timed with CDC's release of its annual surveillance report, and the data are available exclusively on statehealthfacts.org. Data also are available by race, ethnicity and other demographic indicators. A list of all Kaiser World AIDS Day resources, including an updated fact sheet on the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States, is available online (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 11/30).
  
  
• AIDS.gov, HHS: HHS on Friday released an online source for access to U.S. government information on HIV/AIDS programs and resources (AIDS.gov, 12/1).
  
  
• "Unveiling the Truth," Health and Development Networks and AIDS Care Watch Campaign: The report finds that current efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including universal treatment targets, will not be met unless stigma and discrimination associated with the disease are addressed. The report includes 40 articles written by correspondents from Ireland, India, Namibia, Thailand, Uganda, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe ("Unveiling the Truth," 11/30).
  

Broadcast Coverage:

• APM's "Marketplace Morning Report": The segment reports on Indian pharmaceutical companies' agreement with the Clinton Foundation to reduce the prices of pediatric antiretroviral drugs in many developing countries. The segment includes comments from former President Clinton (Kennedy, "Marketplace Morning Report," APM, 12/1). Audio of the segment will be available online after the broadcast.
  
  
• APM's "Marketplace": The segment examines how the funerals of people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses in South Africa and the cultural expectation that women will provide funeral assistance at no-cost has "drastically cut into weekends," and time for religious, leisure and family activities. The segment includes comments from South African women (Wilson, "Marketplace," APM, 11/30). A transcript and audio of the segment are available online.
  
  
• CBS' "Up to the Minute": The program includes an interview with Marjorie Hill, CEO of Gay Men's Health Crisis, about U.S. attitudes toward HIV/AIDS and Spencer Tillman -- sports anchor for CBS whose brother died of AIDS-related illnesses (Oliver, "Up to the Minute," CBS, 11/30). Video of both interviews is available online.
  
  
• CNN's "American Morning": The program's special edition for World AIDS Day includes interviews with Clinton; Iman, a model and cosmetic entrepreneur who created the "I Am African" campaign -- a project that aims to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in Africa and directs contributions to Keep a Child Alive; and an HIV-positive man working at the Boston Living Center (O'Brien, "American Morning," CNN, 12/1). Transcripts of the program will be available online after the broadcast. Video of the interview with Clinton is available online.
  
  
• CNN's "American Morning": The program includes a report on HIV immunity among more than 100 Nairobi commercial sex workers and efforts to develop the first experimental vaccine intended for Africa. The segment includes comments from Seth Berkley, head of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative; Walter Jaoko, a physician with the Kenya AIDS Control Project; Richard Lester, a researcher with KACP and the University of Manitoba; Charles Wachihi, a physician with KACP; and Nairobi sex workers (Gupta, "American Morning," CNN, 12/1). Video of the segment is available online.
  
  
• NPR's "Morning Edition": The program includes interviews with three experts -- Anthony Fauci, director of NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Ken Mayer, director of the Brown University AIDS Program; and Phil Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute -- who have been fighting HIV/AIDS since the pandemic began 25 years ago (Wilson, "Morning Edition," NPR, 12/1). Audio of the segment, as well as expanded NPR interviews with the three men and Kevin Fenton, director of CDC's National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, is available online.
  

Special Coverage
Several newspapers published special coverage sections for World AIDS Day. Links to some of those papers appear below.

• Mail and Guardian
  
  
• South China Morning Post (Registration required)
  
  
• The Independent

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