Mr. Speaker, today is World AIDS Day, a day to pause and reflect upon this devastating disease and renew our resolve to overcome it.
The theme for this year's public awareness campaign is “Listen, Learn, Live!”, which aims to raise awareness about the need to strengthen AIDS programs for children and young people.
According to the 1999 UN AIDS update, an estimated 570,000 children aged 14 or younger became infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Over 90% were babies born to HIV positive women.
There are too many children being affected by HIV/AIDS. We must redouble our efforts to eradicate AIDS and to educate our young people about this deadly disease.
In the spirit of the “Listen, Learn, Live!” campaign the Canadian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development, in collaboration with the Canadian Public Health Association and the Canadian Society of International Health, provide parliamentarians with information on HIV/AIDS.
I encourage all members of the House to visit the information kiosk.