On April 17, HIV/AIDS experts and health officials met in Winnipeg, Canada, to discuss ways of tackling the growing AIDS epidemic in Ukraine, The Winnipeg Free Press reports (winnepegfreepress.com, 4/17).
According to the article, about 344,000 of Ukraine’s 46 million residents are HIV positive. Almost 80 percent of newly infected individuals are young people.
“This is the first time organizations fighting HIV/AIDS in Ukraine have gathered to talk about how to stem the tide,” said Terry Duguid, president and CEO of the International Center for Infectious Diseases, a Canadian group that organized the forum.
According to the Free Press, many Canadians have strong ties to the Ukraine. Manitoba, for example, is home to 130,000 Ukrainians, the largest Ukrainian community in Canada.
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I think that it's OK to be angry. I am sometimes—it's natural—we are HIV positive. but I always try to not let myself stay there too long. Let yourself feel you are human. You should not beat yourself up about being angry."
