Banjul — The Permanent Secretary of the Department of State for Health and Social Welfare, Abdoulie Mam Njie has said that the issue of HIV/AIDS is a global crisis, which demands urgent attention, commitment and sustained action by alliances of individuals, organisations and sectors.

He was speaking at a one-week workshop on HIV/AIDS, Education and Youth, at the Friendship Hotel in Bakau. He said the HIVAIDS epidemic threatens to halt or reverse Africa's social and economic gains, adding that according to UNAIDS and WHO's 2001 estimates, 14,000 people was infected every day and 50 percent of these are young people between the ages of 15-24 years. This age factor, he said, makes HIV/AIDS a most urgent problem for all.

He said that in the Gambia, recent studies and clinical data showed that HIV infection rate has almost doubled within a period of seven years.

"We must reflect on the people who are infected and affected as individuals, families and community; we need to look beyond the statistical data and put a human face to HIV/AIDS", he said.

He lamented that while the rate of HIV infection is increasing in the country, some people, especially youth still doubt the existence of the virus. "The saying that 'seeing is believing', does not work right in the context of HIV, for if we wait to see a patient before we believe it exists we may only see ourselves or loved ones suffering from the virus", he said

In the same vein, Mr. Gibril Sumbunu said the US Peace Corps in the Gambia was very pleased to be associated with the Youth, HIV/AIDS and Football Camp as a people-to-people development agency. He explained that HIV/AIDS has serious implications for our activities both past and present, adding that "just as with other agencies and sector this pandemic seeks to negate many years of achievements.

We have since embarked on what we are calling a 'gender task force' made up of staff and Peace Corps volunteers which we hope to formally launch during World Aids Day", he said.