On the eve of World AIDS Day, panelists ARCO Forum.detailed the complexity of the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

The directors of AIDS initiatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank and several smaller non-governmental organizations discussed last night the roles their groups play in combating AIDS and the difficulties they have encountered.

Stone Professor of International Trade Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of Harvard's Center for International Development, began the discussion with a summary of economic concerns that have plagued AIDS-afflicted developing countries.

"This is a pandemic that rivals any dread disease in history," Sachs said. "There are tens of millions marked for death, and unless we act, all of these infected will die in a few years."

In a brief presentation, Naomi Nhiwatiwa of the WHO echoed Sachs' concerns by depicting the plight of AIDS-afflicted African societies.

She portrayed a culture completely ravaged by the disease, where children are forced to leave school to care for orphaned siblings, damaging the job market.

Health care infrastructure is also in crisis, she said, as doctors and nurses are also dying from the disease.

"Up to 70 percent of hospital beds are occupied by HIV victims," Nhiwatiwa said.