Thalia Ortiz walks into a classroom of ninth-graders on Denver’s west side hoping to harness some of the very cultural values that others commonly see as a barrier to safe sex practices in the Latino community. Ortiz, a social worker with Denver Area Youth Services (DAYS), is using ¡Cuídate!, a six-hour curriculum that is one of the only evidence-based HIV prevention programs available for use with Latino youth ages 13-18.

The "Lazarus effect" is a phrase coined by doctors and relief workers in Africa to describe what happens to AIDS patients after they start receiving antiretroviral medicines. On Sunday, churches around the world read from the Gospel of John and heard the story of Lazarus, in which Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, as part of Lazarus Sunday.

Retired Anglican Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, an outspoken activist for human rights and equality in Uganda, delivered a presentation at the United Nations in New York on April 8 calling for the global decriminalization of homosexuality as a way to make progress in the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Province IV Network of AIDS Ministries of the Episcopal Church exists to work collaboratively among member diocese to build opportunities for people with HIV/AIDS, their families, friends, caregivers, and people involved in AIDS ministries to come together for spiritual and emotional renewal, expressed within the traditions of the Episcopal Church. This manifests itself through the annual HIV/AIDS Retreat, held at the Kanuga Conference Center annually since 1992. The Network also builds bridges so that people involved in AIDS ministries can share information and support across diocesan lines, foster dialogue and share information that impacts the Church on the issues of HIV/AIDS.

Everyone has been touched by somebody who has been affected by HIV/AIDS. In fact, nearly 7,500 new cases of HIV infections are reported worldwide each day. In the United States alone, someone is infected with HIV every nine and a half minutes. A significant fundraiser since 1990, Dining Out for Life offers a meaningful way to support a worthy cause that suffers from lack of funding. On a single day, nearly $4 Million is raised in the struggle against HIV/AIDS.

While most adoptions present challenges, there's a distinctive set of them facing parents who decide to adopt children living with HIV. A twice-daily medication regimen, lingering prejudice and fear, uncertainty about the child's longevity and marriage prospects.

Yet the number of U.S. parents undertaking HIV adoptions, or seriously considering them, is surging — from a trickle five years ago to at least several hundred. Most involve orphans from foreign countries where they faced stigma, neglect and the risk of early death.