(NEW YORK) – International World AIDS Week will kick off at New York University this week, and will feature a series of events hosted by on-campus organizations to raise funds and educate students and staff about AIDS. The week will lead up to the official International World AIDS Day on Friday, which is organized by the Britain-based independent organization, the World AIDS Campaign. This year’s theme is “Stop AIDS — Keep the Promise” and will be the theme for the next 10 years.

This year’s sub-theme is “holding people accountable for their promises,” said Kate Otto, president of the Keep A Child Alive organization at NYU, referring to the monetary commitments by governments and individuals to solve the problem.

Despite education efforts and available treatments, the AIDS epidemic killed about 3.1 million people last year, 570,000 of whom were children.

Keep A Child Alive is one of many international organizations on campus hosting events for NYU’s International World AIDS Week. The organization provides antiretroviral medications to children and families affected by AIDS in Africa and creates awareness on campus.

The events include a $1 bake sale today at the Broome Street, Weinstein and Lafayette residence halls as well as the Kimmel Center. The purpose is to teach people that the cost of retroviral medications is only $1, and to show how “we spend a dollar easily every day,” Otto said.

The School of Medicine’s Face-to-Face Project will also display its exhibition, “PhotoMosaics,” in the school building. The project is a large mosaic of 12-by-12-inch photographs of people affected by AIDS in Malawi, Africa, taken and arranged by Ken Wong. Educational panels and kiosks will also be a part of the exhibition.

“It is important for people to come see the faces of the people infected and affected by the AIDS pandemic,” Wong said. “The Project aims to humanize the crisis, so that people here can relate to what is happening there.”