Today when students are walking to class, they should notice that pieces of art on campus will be covered. The artwork was covered at 6:30 a.m. in order to help students remember the three million people globally who died from AIDS last year.

And during this time, with all the distractions of classes, economic troubles of the nation and war in Afghanistan, today is the time to stop and think about the worldwide problems surrounding AIDS.

With record numbers of donations to the Red Cross and the international community ready for World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that seven months after he proposed the creation of a $10 billion fund to support the fight against AIDS, pledges to the effort are at $1.5 billion.

Congress is planning to contribute about $200 million this year to help develop medications for AIDS patients around the world. And Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., are starting a new task force to boost America’s role in fighting this global health concern. They want Congress to give $1.2 billion to the cause.

The UN Secretary-General said after Sept. 11, people care more about creating a better world for their children. And just like ending terrorism, he said that we need a world where children do not die of AIDS.

In the United States, 774,467 AIDS cases were reported last year.

Around the world, people are facing this health concern with little hope. The numbers of AIDS/HIV cases tell an alarming story – of the 36 million AIDS cases in Africa, 23 million were reported in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 150,000 Angolans have the disease; 280,000 in Botswana and more than half a million in Cameroon are facing this deadly disease. In Ethiopia, nearly 3 million people are infected.

Since the discovery of AIDS in the 1980s, 21.8 million have died from this disease.

And why should college students care about this health concern and social problem in other continents?

Because we need to care about the future of developing countries in Africa. These countries need to improve their economic conditions. They need to establish industry for trade with the United States.

But before any of that can happen, health care improvements need to happen, with the help of the United Nations.

The South African Chamber of Business leaders are calling for intervention to prevent the spread of the disease. Because of a South African government death toll estimated to be at one million by 2008, some business leaders said that if present trends continue, companies will have to train three people for every job.

AIDS is a long-term health problem for the world. The world needs to come together Saturday and work toward a solution. We need to make AIDS awareness something we strive for every day.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell