New campaign aims to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among Polish youth

According to statistics, there are 15,000-20,000 people infected with HIV and/or suffering from AIDS in Poland. A new media campaign entitled "HIV does not choose. You can." is aimed at youngsters as 60% of people who are HIV positive are below 29 years of age. First of all, the campaign is intended to warn against casual sexual intercourse under the influence of alcohol or drugs. According to WHO data, 16,000 people become infected with HIV worldwide everyday and last year the virus attacked 800,000 children. "There is not such a great threat of becoming infected in Poland as in African countries, however specialists fear that the disease, which is spreading rapidly across the countries of the former Soviet Union, may also attack Poland," said Anna Marzec-Boguslawska, head of the National AIDS Center. Over 500 people have died of AIDS in Poland in the last 17 years. (Zycie, p. 4) A.Z.