Started on 1st  December 1988, World  AIDS Day is about  raising money,  increasing awareness,  fighting prejudice and  improving education.  World AIDS Day is  important for  reminding people that  HIV has not gone away,  and that there are many  things still to be done.

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 34 million people living with HIV. During 2010 some 2.7 million people became newly infected with the virus, including an estimated 390,000 children. Despite a significant decline in the estimated number of AIDS-related deaths over the last five years, there were still an estimated 1.8 million AIDS-related deaths in 2010.

The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in low- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world. 

To find out more about World AIDS Day, go to avert.org

What is Winter Walk? 

The 20th Annual Winter Walk for AIDS is a three-mile walk that raises vital funding for Triad Health Project's direct client services and prevention education programs. Th­e theme of this year's event is "I Walk...", and it serves as a powerful reminder that HIV/AIDS affects everyone. Each of us has a personal reason for standing up to HIV/AIDS, and this is the year to share our stories.

Why is this year's Winter Walk so important? 

Triad Health Project is remembering several big milestones in the HIV/AIDS epidemic this year.

  * 30 years ago, the U.S. classified its first case of AIDS. It is estimated that more than one million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S., and that more than half a million people in the U.S. have died after developing AIDS.

  * 25 years ago, Triad Health Project opened its doors as a nonprofit organization committed to supporting individuals infected with HIV/AIDS, to their loved ones, and to those at risk for HIV/AIDS. In 2010 alone, we served 2,749 people through a combination of direct client services, HIV testing, and HIV prevention education programs.

  * 20 years ago, Triad Health Project held the  first Winter Walk for AIDS, a modest candlelight walk that started at Grimsley High School, where friends walked for friends in their community who were dying from the deadly emerging disease.

Is it too late to participate?

No, it's not too late! Just follow these simple steps:

 * Register at www.winterwalkforaids.kintera.org and set a fundraising goal.

 * Register individually or as a team. Teams can be any size and made up of any group of 2 or more people.

 * Sponsor yourself - invest in your success!

 * Invite people to sponsor you - use the handy tools on the website!

 * Bring any offline (cash or check) donations to War Memorial Stadium on December 4th.

Allyson and I just finished an 8 week session with our THP Women's Group.  One hot topic is the lack of  resources available to those living with HIV/AIDS in NC.  Many of our clients have moved to NC from other states, like New Jersey and New York, where funding and resources for housing, medication, and food and nutrition services, are more established, and people have a hard time finding resources they are used to in NC.  We have been trying to figure out why there isn't as much access to resources in NC for people living with HIV/AIDS because NC has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS per capita in the country.  

Two weeks ago, THP's Executive Director Addison Ore came to speak to our group about advocacy and ways to make change.  The only way to make change is to be a voice that is heard, which is always hard for people living with HIV/AIDS because it is such a controversial topic and not everyone is comfortable disclosing their status.

We decided to make our concerns known by writing the people in our state who make the laws and allocate funding - our legislators.  Ryan White Funding is up for reauthorization in 2013, and with the elections right around the corner, the political climate in our state will most certainly affect HIV funding.  

We drafted a letter stating our concerns and requests to Governor Bev Perdue and other key legislators.  All of the participants of the women's group signed the letter and felt really good about making their collective voice heard.  We hope that our voices ARE heard and we look forward to sharing with the group more ways that we can advocate for ourselves and our HIV community.

 Ellen McAngus with  Allyson Clark,  THP Case   Managers

In a new NPR article,   the author discusses how HIV treatment is lagging In U.S., guaranteeing more infections. 

• The latest numbers from the CDC show that only 28 percent of the nation's 1.2 million HIV-infected people are getting effective treatment - that is, antiviral medications to keep the virus in check.
• Twenty percent of people living with HIV/AIDS have not been tested, so their HIV infection is unknown to themselves or their doctors.
• Nearly 40 percent of the total - and half of those who've been diagnosed as HIV-positive - have not been linked up with HIV care.
• Sixty percent of those who enter care drop out.
• Only a third of all HIV-infected people get anti-retroviral therapy.
• Some people who get the drugs don't achieve control of the virus.
• About 17,000 Americans still die of AIDS every year.