GAINESVILLE -

     Tomorrow is world Aids Awareness Day and the city of Gainesville  will officially recognize the day.

     A forum was held today called "Bridging Voices" where those with the disease and those helping to combat it joined to create new strategies.

     The forum is timely because the number of people affected with the disease is rising in north Florida.

     Robin Lewy with The Rural Women's Health Project says they are "trying to eradicate the disease and get it to zero, so this is a good time to strategize and re-group."

     It has been 30 years since HIV and AIDS was formally recognized in the United States.

     There are 5,000 new cases of HIV in the state of Florida each year.