Contributors to to HIV/AIDS prevention and control are honoured with the Red Ribbon Awards on November 25 (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Organisations and people who have greatly contributed to HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Vietnam were honoured with the Red Ribbon Awards in Ho Chi Minh City on November 25.
The awards aim to promote communications to eradicate stigma and discrimination against HIV carriers, and call on celebrities, media and local authorities to support people with HIV and vulnerable groups.
They also look to encourage HIV-infected people’s positive lifestyle, promote HIV treatment, and raise public awareness of relevant issues.
At the ceremony, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Health’s Department for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Hoang DinhCanh said over the last 30 years, Vietnam has significantly reduced stigma and discrimination against HIV carriers.
However, the stigma still exists under various forms, which has hampered people with HIV and suspected HIV carriers’ access to consultation, testing and treatment services, as well as their relatives’ access to preventive measures.
He called on the entire society to take concrete actions to eliminate stigma and discrimination while supporting people with HIV.
The Red Ribbon Awards was launched in 2015 by the Vietnam Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS.
Vietnam identified more than 227,150 people with HIV by the end of 2015, and estimates that there are about 254,000 HIV carriers in the country./.
VNA
