The two-day event, organised by the Women’s Union of Thua Thien-Hue province in coordination with the North Europe organisation, drew the participation of 500 representatives from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Vietnam Central Women’s Union and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, as well as monks and nuns from eight provinces and cities, namely Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho.
Delegates highlighted good models for taking care of HIV/AIDS patients, particularly those models provided by Buddhism pagodas and Catholic churches. They agreed that dignitaries and religious followers have made great contributions to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Vietnam, mainly by promoting HIV/AIDS education, providing HIV/AIDS treatment and fighting discrimination.
According to the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), more than 35 million people in the world are living with HIV/AIDS. Each year, an additional of 2.5 people are infected by HIV, while about 2 million die of the fatal disease. In Vietnam, by October 2009, 155,700 people had been HIV-positive with HIV, with 34,563 developing full-blown AIDS and 44,043 dead.