The Rosa J. Young Center for Women in conjunction with the Man Center on the campus of Concordia College invited students, staff, faculty and members of the Selma-Dallas County community to its Community Health Fair Wednesday.

The fair, which was in conjunction with World AIDS Day, included screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, prostate, HIV/AIDS, STD testing, blood pressure, glucose and the body mass index.

During World Aids Day, National Aids Trust Chief Executive Deborah Jack said it is especially important to host events like the health fair to raise awareness about the disease.

“This is an extremely important day and this year we are proud to mark it by launching the network,” she said. “We want to empower people living with HIV, particularly those who may not think of themselves as ‘activists’ or don’t feel they have the confidence to speak out, how easy it is to get involved with our network and make a difference.”

Throughout the day hundreds of students took advantage of free services on the Eastern campus.

The Center for Demographic Research at Auburn University Montgomery recently released its 2010 data sheet highlighting the number of new HIV/AIDS cases in Alabama this year, which reflected a decrease.

The university partnered with AIDS Alabama for the second year to produce the data sheet. AIDS Alabama is statewide group dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV and helping people with the virus live healthy lives.

According to the data sheet, 16.35 Alabamians per 100,000 were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS this year, which is down from 19.45 in the 2009.

The center said the reduction can be attributed to HIV/AIDS service organizations and advocacy coalitions that educate the public and gain support from policymakers. Despite the reduction Alabama’s HIV/AIDS numbers are still higher than the national average.

For more information, visit www.demographics.aum.edu and www.aidsalabama.org.