Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 1, 1993                   TAG: 9312020263
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GENEVA                                LENGTH: Medium

HEALTH GROUP URGES MORE SEX EDUCATION TO STOP AIDS

On the eve of today's World AIDS Day, the U.N. Health agency published a report saying that sex education frequently persuades young people to delay the start of sexual activity, have fewer partners and to use condoms.

It said open discussion before teen-agers become sexually active is most effective and apparently doesn't increase promiscuity.

But it conceded that many young people do not heed the advice.

"In many ways, it is youth which is driving this epidemic," said Dr. Michael Merson of WHO's Global Program on AIDS. "We don't want our youth to die of ignorance.

"There are 1 billion youth in the world. They need to have all the knowledge they have, all the skills they need and - if they are having sex - all the condoms they need to be able to protect themselves," Merson told a news conference.

The theme of this year's World AIDS Day is "Time to Act." It aims to impress upon governments and individuals the urgency of the problem and the need for education and prevention.

WHO says an estimated 13 million people have already been infected with the human immunodeficiency virus that leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome. The figure may rise to 40 million within seven years.

About half of the infections have occurred in people aged 15-24.

Every day, an additional 5,000 people worldwide are infected, about three-fourths of them through sexual intercourse, according to WHO figures. Most of them are in developing countries.

WHO has consistently emphasized the need to promote condom use among sexually active adults, but has tried to avoid upsetting the Roman Catholic Church, which preaches against birth control, and other religions that rule out sex before marriage.

WHO's survey of sex education was based on 35 studies.

\ SPREAD OF AIDS\ World Health Organization data\ \ Total cases: More than 700,000 reported by July. True total estimated nearer 2.5 million worldwide because of under-reporting.\ \ North America: Between 1 and 1.5 million estimated HIV infections. AIDS is\ biggest killer of American men aged 25 to 44.\ \ South America and Caribbean: 1.5 million.\ \ Sub-Saharan Africa: 8 million, brunt of the current epidemic.\ \ South and Southeast Asia: 1.5 million, mainly Thailand and India.\ \ Western Europe: 500,000.\ \ Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union: 50,000.