About 40,000 new HIV cases are reported each year and the number has remained the same for 10 years, according to Kim Rice, the sexual health educator at the McKinley Health Center. The stable number, Rice said, is “not a good sign.”

World’s AIDS Day, commemorated worldwide today, was developed as a way to remember the victims of AIDS, encourage others to learn more about the disease around the world and to reaffirm the commitment to finding a cure, according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Web site.

Rice said World’s AIDS Day was also created to celebrate the strides made in AIDS education, prevention and medicine over the years. To help raise awareness, Rice will also give a brief introduction to World’s AIDS Day and AIDS among minorities at the African Cultural Center, 708 S. Mathews Ave., at noon.

“(World’s AIDS Day) is a day to recognize and support those who are infected with HIV and/or AIDS and those who are at risk of being infected,” Rice said.

Jerry Ogbudimkpa, head of the health education department at McKinley, said “prevention is better than finding a cure.”

He asked students to take a few minutes out of their day to drop by one of the World’s AIDS Day events and learn ways to prevent contracting the disease.

“Young people always get carried away, and they may forget certain small things to prevent them from sickness,” Ogbudimkpa said, referring to condoms and other birth control methods. “It is important to learn how to avoid engaging in unhealthy behavior. People need to learn how to take care and protect themselves, their families and everyone around them.”

Ogbudimkpa said the McKinley Health Center has invited HealthWorks Theater, a professional theater troupe based in Chicago, to perform at noon in the Courtyard Cafe in the Illini Union. The performance, titled “Wizard of AIDS,” is meant to raise AIDS awareness through a theatrical performance.

Other events today include a Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) community reception from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., with the themes of “Denial Will Not Protect You” and “HIV: It is Better to Know!”. The CUPHD will provide free services such as HIV and STD testing at the Don Moyer’s Boys and Girls Club location at Lakeside Terrace in Urbana, said Julie Pryde, director of CUPHD’s Division of HIV/STD/TB Prevention and Management.

The CUPHD will also announce the winners of a poster and radio script contest for students in elementary and high school.

Rice said students can get tested for HIV anonymously at McKinley.