Women now account for more than 25 per cent of AIDS cases in the United States, a percentage that has tripled since the epidemic first began 20 years ago. To help address this alarming situation, the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) will host a day-long medical symposium entitled "Focus on Women: Challenges in the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS" on Friday, October 19, 2001, at the Cornell Club in New York City.

"HIV infection has become the fifth leading cause of death among women between the ages of 25 and 44," said Dr. Mathilde Krim, amfAR's Founding Chairman and Chairman of the Board. "As a growing number of women become infected, there is an urgent need for new prevention methods and treatments that focus on how HIV uniquely affects women. This symposium will help health care professionals better respond to the changing demographics of the AIDS crisis."

Chaired by two of amfAR's Board members, Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Harlem Hospital Center, and Dr. Kenneth H. Mayer, Director of Brown University's AIDS Program, and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Miriam Hospital (Providence, RI), the symposium will feature presentations by leading researchers on social and biomedical methods of preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in women. Marcia Ann Gillespie, Editor in Chief of Ms. magazine, will be the keynote speaker at this event.

The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, AIDS prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested nearly $190 million in support for its programs and awarded grants to over 1,900 research teams worldwide.