NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS WORLD AIDS DAY TO BE OBSERVED AT HEADQUARTERS 1 DECEMBER

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS WORLD AIDS DAY TO BE OBSERVED AT HEADQUARTERS 1 DECEMBER

World AIDS Day will be observed at United Nations Headquarters on Tuesday, 1 December 1998. Co-sponsored by the Department of Public Information and the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR), in association with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the programme will begin at 10 a.m. in the Economic and Social Council Chamber. Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Kensaku Hogen, will open the programme. The Secretary-General's message will be delivered by Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette.

Afsane Bassir Pour, correspondent for Le Monde, will moderate a panel discussion on "Youth: A Force for Change". Panellists include: actress Sharon Stone, who is Chairman of AmFAR's Campaign for AIDS Research; James Carmichael, representative, UNAIDS; Lila Gollogly, a secondary school student at the United Nations International School; and Candido Gonzalez, a person living with HIV/AIDS.

UNAIDS, along with its co-sponsors and partners, is focusing the 1998 World AIDS Campaign on young people for two reasons. First, young people are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection and are being very seriously affected by the epidemic, with over 50 per cent of new infections with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, now occurring in the 10 to 24 age group. Second, young people are a key resource in mobilizing an expanded and effective response and, therefore, have the power to change the course of the epidemic. In the above age group, 7,000 young people are infected with HIV every day. Five young people are infected every minute.

World AIDS Day was established on 1 December 1988 by the World Health Organization, and its annual observance was mandated by General Assembly resolution A/43/15.

For more information, please call 212-963-6923; for media accreditation, 212-963-6934; for United Nations television coverage, 212-963-7650.

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