Thousands of Vietnamese joined events in Hanoi and central provinces yesterday to mark World AIDS Day today, including high-risk groups, people with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Members of Red Cross from the capital city's 14 districts take part in a meeting to fight against the discrimination of HIV/AIDS patients.

At a meeting in the capital, Vietnam Red Cross Society encouraged its 10mil members and young volunteers to donate blood.

Hundred of volunteers will visit people with HIV/AIDS to spread information about the fight against AIDS, as well as present gifts to AIDS patients in hospitals and the community.

CARE Vietnam handed donated clothes, blankets and toys to the Hanoi Rehabilitation Centre 5, which houses about 700 women suffering from HIV/AIDS and drug addiction, as well as 20 children living with the deadly disease.

Country director Carol Sherman said the organisation wanted to do practical things for the women and girls in the centre, who are the focus of the global fight for this year's World AIDS Day.

In the central province of Nghe An, Vinh City also marked World AIDS Day with a meeting. The province is ranked eighth in the country with highest number of people with HIV/AIDS with 2,770 carriers of whom 109 have died since records began.

More than 3,000 young volunteers in Vinh City participated in a march and distributed thousands of leaflets in bus and train stations, schools and markets.

In the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, youth rallied to support people with HIV/AIDS carrying anti-discrimination banners. Khanh Hoa records about 1,500 HIV/AIDS carriers, of whom nearly 500 have died so far.

(Source: Viet Nam News)