MEDIA ALERT

Contacts: Ashley Wolfington/EGPAF
202-296-9165
ashley@pedaids.org

Kaylyn Dines/UMDNJ
973-972-7276
dineskd@umdnj.edu

"CARING ACROSS CONTINENTS"

WORLD AIDS DAY EVENT WILL BRING TOGETHER HIV-POSITIVE YOUTH FROM NEW JERSEY AND AFRICA TO SHARE THEIR STORIES OF HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Young People from Opposite Ends of the World Will Link-up via Videoconference to Remind the World that Ending AIDS in Children is Possible

11/29/05—WHAT: To mark World AIDS Day, Newark youth will not only tell, but also show children in Uganda about the face of pediatric AIDS in America. Through a live videoconference hosted by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, U.S. and African children will exchange their courageous testimonials, poems and performances about growing up HIV positive. Technology will bridge the gap between these young people and allow them to deliver a unified message to stop AIDS in children.

In the U.S., researchers have come a long way in unlocking the mysteries of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and helping children living with HIV/AIDS to live a full and healthy life through treatment. In countries like Uganda, these advancements are beginning to take hold, but still more than 1,900 children are newly infected with HIV everyday worldwide. Through their stories, children on both continents will show that there is much more work to be done to save the next generation.

WHO: Event Moderator: Cynthia McFadden, co-anchor, ABC News "Nightline"
Special Guest: Jake Glaser, spokesperson, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Suzie Zeegen, founding member of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Dr. Jim Oleske, Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Professor of Pediatrics, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
Dr. Philippa Musoke, Professor of Pediatrics, Makerere University School of Medicine, Kampala, Uganda
Youth from Newark, NJ and Kampala, Uganda

WHERE/WHEN: Thursday, December 1, 2005
9:00 to 10:30 a.m.
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Rosemary Gellene Room, Medical Science Building
185 South Orange Avenue
Newark, NJ

The "Caring Across Continents" event is being sponsored by Johnson & Johnson .