Wednesday.

The only international day of coordinated action against the spread of the deadly disease comes with Bermuda having recorded 237 cases of AIDS and 190 HIV-infected people up to September.

And the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 14 million people have been infected by the AIDS virus worldwide, and by the year 2000 that figure will have more than doubled.

Considering this year's World AIDS Day theme, "Time to ACT!'', chairperson of the Health Department-sponsored World AIDS Day Committee, Mrs. Joan Dillas Wright said it "adds a sense of urgency to the work that is currently in place''.

"No longer can we be complacent or discriminatory,'' she said. "The time to act is now. It is time to make education and prevention our top priority.'' The committee has scheduled a week of activities which include: Free distribution of red ribbons to promote AIDS awareness; A non-denominational service featuring choirs from around the Island; A parents' forum to discuss HIV and AIDS education; A teen forum and film for fourth-year high school students; A locally-produced television special on families affected by AIDS in Bermuda; and A torch-light walk from Victoria Park throughout the city.

Two visiting guest speakers, Mrs. Debra Frazer Howe and the Rev. Phil Joudry, will also participate in the activities.

Mrs. Frazer Howe, who is director of New York's Teen Services and chairperson of the Mayor's Council on AIDS, will speak at both the teen and parent forums.

The Rev. Joudry, who is chaplain of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Canada, is scheduled to speak at the ecumenical service this Sunday.