AIDS affects us all.

We live in a world where HIV/AIDS is an everyday reality. It shouldn't be here. And if we get engaged, get informed and get inspired, it needn't be either.

Whether you're white or black, whether you're rich or poor, whether you live in a part of the world which is developed or developing, this is a disease that reaches out beyond racial, social and geographic borders. There are no lines. There are no limits. And if you don't think it matters to you, please read on.

I'm learning more by working with the United Nations and was most recently in a slum in southern India to talk to pregnant women and encourage them to get aware and to get tested. I don't know from my own experience what it's like to live with this disease, but I DO know that I can't get infected just by eating, drinking or working with someone living with HIV/AIDS.

And you can't get infected by being friends either. I know many people who are living with HIV/AIDS and they inspire me each day. Ironically, for a disease that is so often associated with 'death', my relationships with these men, women and children, as well as my involvement in the wider fight against stigma and discrimination, is teaching me how to live a better life.

Worldwide in 2007, 33.2 million people were estimated to be living with HIV of which 2.5 million became infected in that year alone. It's a huge number, but remember that AIDS shouldn't be reduced to a statistic. It's about people who—like you and me—are a father, mother, son or daughter to someone else.

Click here to find out how to protect yourself, how to get involved and how you can contribute.

Use a condom. Get tested. Know your status.