A seminar on guaranteeing the right for children, affected by the HIV/AIDS virus, to be able to study, was held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 22.

The seminar was hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City HIV/AIDS Prevention Committee and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

According to the Legal Aid and Consultancy Center, knowledge of HIV prevention methods and the law on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control have not been widely known. Which means that children living with AIDS virus believed they are stigmatized and discriminated against, especially at kindergartens and primary schools.

The government should launch and support school policies that assist HIV-affected children, most of whom come from poor families.

Statistics show that Vietnam has more than 5,000 school-aged HIV-positive carriers (0-15 years old) and thousands of HIV-affected children.

In related news, the Thi Nghe Center for Orphans and Disabled Children now has more than 2,300 students, since its establishment in 1975. Most of them have physical, intellectually and communication problems to deal with.

Source: SGGP