THERE'S still hope.

The government's largest HIV-Aids research initiative at institutions of higher learning has just revealed that the pandemic's prevalence among university students is far lower than the national average.

The consolation is that while we thought our colleges and universities were a viral powder keg, we could perhaps take comfort in the HEAids report that things are not as bad as they seemed. But with more females found to be as twice likely to be infected by the virus, there's still cause for major concern.

The old men prowling campus grounds in their German sedans and state-of-the-art cellphones are not making the fight any easier, either. The situation can only improve if we all put our shoulders to the wheel and intensify the fight against HIV-Aids. With all hands on deck, we can only do better in the fight against Aids.