Forum Held at University of Texas to Inspire Action Against AIDS

On Tuesday, a panel discussion at the University of Texas-Austin sought to correct misinformation about the AIDS pandemic. The gathering was sponsored by Face AIDS, a student organization whose aim is to inspire students to play a role in fighting the disease in Africa.

One challenge to grasping the African situation is that "We rarely hear from the Africans themselves," said James Wilson Jr., assistant professor of history, one of three faculty members taking part. "We rarely hear from the women and the orphans. We hear from the missionaries and the medical experts."

Barbara Moore, a lecturer in the biology department, said that while people in the health professions have the knowledge needed to stop the spread of the STD, actually bringing about behavior change is another matter.

"There are two sides to the issue: prevention and treatment," said Joshua Busby, a postdoctoral fellow at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He pointed out that the United States is the largest single contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Busby noted that donor nations have focused primarily on treatment, "but as long as people are getting infected, the number of people who need to be on these drugs will grow and grow and grow."

Face AIDS member Lisa Newhouse said, "Knowledge is power, and what [students] learn here could mobilize them and potentially change the world. We want to encourage people to become more active and more involved in HIV prevention."

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