Without a national policy dedicated to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS young people in Bermuda will not have enough information about the dangers of contracting the disease.

Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley said that as rates of the potentially fatal disease continue to rise around the world, particularly among women, politicians continue to pay lip service to the issue without implementing any real policies.

And ceremonies to mark World AIDS Day indicate how Government is good with talk and not with action, he said.

“As a Government with all the outreach it has to schools, clubs, and community organisations, it has been derelict in attacking the situation,” said Mr. Dunkley. “As HIV/AIDS has a drastic impact on developing countries it also impacts more affluent areas. We don't do enough on a regular basis to ensure young people are aware of the dangers of contracting HIV/AIDS and the risks of unprotected sex and drug use. As our health care costs continue to rise and prevention becomes necessary we have been negligent in how we can move forward.”

Last year on World AIDS Day Government had stated HIV/AIDS education would have a special place in standard school health curriculum and that a group of health care educators and workers would devise a national policy to enhance educational efforts.

While Bermuda has made progress with getting people to understand the importance of regular testing, the amount of instruction children receive about the disease in standard health curricula varies from school to school.

Mr. Dunkley said the costs of inactivity impact the rising costs of health care as cocktails of anti-retroviral drugs used by people with HIV/AIDS run into the $100-200 price range - putting a stress on health insurance policies and a stress on the public purse.

“We need to be creative in how we spend our dollars and what will happen five to ten years down the road when the costs of drugs rises with the costs of health insurance,” he added. “The drugs may be readily available but it still doesn't mean its not expensive for the public purse to function.”

And in a small community where drug use has become prevalent in recent years, Mr. Dunkley stated that controlling Bermuda's borders with stricter controls and a commitment to wiping out the drug trade would also help to curb IV drug use.

Ten new cases of HIV and four news cases of AIDS have been reported to the Department of Health so far this year. The new HIV cases bring the total number of reported cases to 543 since record keeping was started while the total number of reported AIDS cases is 491.Of the ten HIV cases, sexual activity, heterosexual or bisexual men having sex with men was reported as the factor for eight individuals and intravenous drug use was identified as the risk factor for the remaining two individuals. Mr. Dunkley said preventing HIV/AIDS - a disease which is one hundred percent preventable - could become even more of a reality for the community if Government was more aggressive in putting a halt to the drug trade. “As a community we have to resolve to do things which have a profound impact,” he said. “Our talk at the moment is not followed by action, we are only scratching the tip of the iceberg. Recognition is key, then we have to look at how our children will have better education on a with the message reinforced on a constant basis.”