Silver Spring, Maryland (November 29, 2007) – Danya International, Inc. (Danya), a health communications, research, and technology firm delivering innovation for social impact, supports World AIDS Day on Saturday, December 1, 2007, and encourages adults and adolescents over the age of 13 to learn their HIV status.

"More than 2 million people worldwide died from AIDS this year," said Jeff Hoffman, Ph.D., President and CEO of Danya. "If we are going to stop the spread of this pandemic, we need to start by reducing the rate of new infections and that begins with taking an HIV test and taking responsibility for our health and our partners’."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in 2007, more than 33.2 million people worldwide currently live with HIV. In the United States, 1 million persons are HIV positive, and approximately 1 in 4 is unaware of their HIV status and is at risk for infecting others. Unrecognized HIV status accounts for more than 50 percent of all new sexually transmitted HIV infections each year.

If you think you are at risk for an HIV infection, visit www.hivtest.org or text your ZIP code to KNOWIT (566948) from your mobile phone to find HIV test centers near you. HIVtest.org also can provide you with information on the basics of HIV and AIDS, how to stay negative, answers about HIV transmission, and more.

In recognition of World AIDS Day 2007, Danya worked with the CDC to display sections of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt at the CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) Service Center located in Atlanta, Georgia. Conceived of in 1985, the Quilt remains a powerful memorial to lives of those claimed by AIDS.

Since 2004, Danya has contracted with CDC to manage the NPIN project in facilitating requests for CDC’s HIV, sexually transmitted disease (STD), and tuberculosis prevention information and resources. NPIN’s core services include its Web site—www.cdcnpin.org— plus five online searchable databases, a call center, materials distribution and fulfillment services, and Service Center support. Currently, Danya also is helping CDC to enhance HIVtest.org with expanded search capabilities.

In close cooperation with representatives from the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and other U.S. Government agencies implementing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Danya developed PEPFAR.net, an online work community. PEPFAR.net supports cross-agency sharing of information, lessons learned, and resources in an open, inclusive, and dynamic environment that promotes collaboration among diverse Government users working with a wide range of technology tools and platforms.

Danya also has provided a variety of health communication services to the Global AIDS Program (GAP), including preparing clinical updates, brochures, and Global AIDS fact sheets; and conducting literature reviews of GAP technical strategies.

For African-American youth, Danya created a comprehensive STD prevention kit entitled Peer to Peer: Stop, Think, Be Safe! The kit provides skill-building and community-based activities designed to reach at-risk middle school-aged adolescents. More information is available at www.stopthinkbesafe.org.

About Danya International, Inc.