JOHANNESBURG South Africa AP Activists across the globe marched in the streets distributed condoms and held benefit concerts Tuesday to try to halt the spread of AIDS which will kill millions of people this year alone. Underscoring events on World AIDS Day was this sobering fact: Although powerful new medicines are helping industrialized countries win the battle against the disease it has reached epidemic proportions in continents where people can't afford the drugs. About 33.4 million people around the world are infected with HIV two-thirds of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In Asia and the Pacific 700000 people become infected with HIV per year. In sub-Saharan Africa the 1998 death toll from AIDS is expected to be 2 million. Nearly 6 million more people will become infected this year 1.7 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. ``In the case of HIV/AIDS the difference in wealth becomes literally matter of life and death'' decried Mary Robinson the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. From bars in Hong Kong to parks in South Africa activists preached safe sex. People pinned red ribbons on lapels to express solidarity in the fight against AIDS. In India where up to 5 million people are HIV positive hundreds of schoolchildren marched beside prostitutes in New Delhi to draw attention to the epidemic. Israelis and Palestinians handed out condoms and literature to passengers departing Israel's international airport in Tel Aviv. In Ivory Coast thousands of children wearing T-shirts with anti-AIDS slogans and bouncing inflated condoms like beach balls marched through the streets of Abidjan. In Kenya children wearing black T-Shirts that said ``Stop AIDS'' distributed condoms and pamphlets on AIDS prevention in Dandora an eastern Nairobi slum. In Hong Kong's nightspots activists handed out coasters with pictures of a condom on one side and a safe-sex message on the other. In Tokyo Japan's Health Ministry held rallies and concerts in a central square. In Moscow a contraceptive company's employees sheathed in red yellow or green ``condom suits'' handed out condoms in Pushkin Square. In Pretoria South Africa clowns painted red AIDS ribbons on people's faces as drum majorettes entertained a crowd. Underneath it all was a life-and-death message: Practice safe sex of face the consequences. ``Come and witness the reality of AIDS. See the devastation in our community. See the fresh graves'' South African President Nelson Mandela told hundreds of people in a village in KwaZulu-Natal province where an estimated 25 percent of adults are infected with HIV. But considering the enormity of the problem the call to action worldwide was muted. In some countries like Zimbabwe where an estimated 23 percent of the population is infected with HIV World AIDS day passed with little fanfare. Countries in southern Africa have been slow to recognize the unfolding tragedy and have little resources to fight it. It was only in October that the South African government launched an AIDS awareness program. Already more than 3 million South Africans are infected. This year an estimated 168000 have died from AIDS. The vast majority of those infected in Africa and other developing regions cannot afford the drugs that are prolonging life among AIDS patients in the West. In Washington President Bill Clinton announced dlrs 10 million in emergency grants to help children orphaned by AIDS in poorer nations. Much more assistance would be needed to help turn the tide. Robinson the top human rights official at the U.N. said: ``The current situation is an indictment of the international allocation of resources to fight HIV/AIDS in developing nations. APW19981201.0669.txt.body.html APW19981201.1444.txt.body.html