World AIDS Day Rally

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of November 29th, at Hung Dung Secondary School in Vinh City, the Steering Committee for HIV/AIDS Prevention, Drug Abuse, and Prostitution Prevention in Nghe An Province organized a rally and parade to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1st, 2016.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from the Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control - Ministry of Health, various departments and agencies, and the city of Vinh.

A large number of delegates, students, and teachers attended the rally.

As of September 30, 2016, Vietnam had 316,345 reported HIV infections, including 174,163 AIDS patients, and 89,210 deaths due to AIDS.

Nghe An currently ranks sixth in the country in terms of the number of people infected with HIV. As of October 30, 2016, 91.7% of communes, wards, and towns in the province, and all 21 districts and towns, had people infected with HIV. The province reported 8,597 people infected with HIV, 6,076 of whom had progressed to AIDS, and 3,770 had died from AIDS.

Localities with high infection rates include Vinh City, Que Phong, Quy Chau, Tuong Duong... The proportion of HIV-infected individuals among injecting drug users accounts for 81.9%.

Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hong, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Department of Health and Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and prostitution prevention in Nghe An province, called on all citizens to pay attention to and implement the Action Programs for HIV/AIDS prevention.

At the rally, the Provincial Steering Committee for HIV/AIDS Prevention, Drug Abuse, and Prostitution called on Party committees, government agencies, departments, mass organizations, social organizations, and all citizens in the province to pay attention to and implement the Action Programs for HIV/AIDS prevention.

We remain committed to taking action to provide increasingly practical and effective support for HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Vietnam, and to ensuring that all citizens have access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, support, and treatment services.

A parade in support of World AIDS Day.

Following the rally, the Steering Committee organized a parade along the main streets of Vinh City to attract public attention and encourage participation in the nationwide movement to prevent and control HIV/AIDS in residential communities, raising awareness and changing attitudes and behaviors to help people infected with HIV and AIDS patients.

Thanh Son