Today is World AIDS Day, a time to reflect on the fact that since the first case of AIDS was diagnosed 25 years ago, 25 million people have been killed by the disease and 40 million people remain infected with the HIV virus. It is not going away even if it isn't necessarily a death sentence for those who can afford the drugs available.

I'd like to share with you some comments UN Chief Kofi Annan made this week: "Accountability – the theme of this World AIDS Day – requires every president and prime minister, every parliamentarian and politician, to decide and declare that 'AIDS stops with me. And it requires every one of us to help bring AIDS out of the shadows, and spread the message that silence is death."

a time to consider that by 2036, 138 million people will have died from the disease, according to new statistics released by The World Health Organization. This due to a virus that can be prevented with education and responsibility.