A MARCH is taking place tomorrow to raise awareness of Aids among the university population in Hampshire. The Student Stop Aids Society will be leading a peaceful demonstration in Southampton city centre.

The event, which marks World Aids day, will begin at 2pm outside WestQuay and end at the Southampton Test Constituency Offices in Southampton Street, where a petition will be presented that requests parliamentary representation on HIV issues.

An UNAIDS report estimates that 4.9 million adults and 640,000 children were newly infected with HIV during 2004, bringing the number of people living with HIV worldwide to 39.4 million. In the UK a quarter of the 53,000 adults living with HIV are thought to be unaware of their status.