People are seen during a charity walk on
the Juyongguan Pass section of the Great Wall to promote the fight
against AIDS. Some 2,000 people including carriers of the HIV/AIDS
took part in this event on Sunday to raise funds. [Photo: Xinhua]
More than 2,000 people including carriers of the HIV virus that
causes AIDS took part in a charity walk on the Great Wall Sunday to
raise 600,000 yuan ($81,000) to help those living with the
disease.
The proceeds of the "Great AIDS Walk" in the Juyongguan Pass
section in northern Beijing will go to the Sunshine Program for
Chinese HIV/AIDS carriers, which will be launched by the Joint
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the China Red
Cross Foundation (CRCF) in next year.
"This is a very important event because it is the work of all of
us - the young, the old, government officials, NGOs and other
citizens to give the commitment together to fight HIV/AIDS," said
Khalid Malik, United Nations resident coordinator on Sunday.
"It's about human rights, the rights that AIDS people should get
to live a normal life," he said.
Speaking highly of the anti-AIDS efforts of the Chinese government,
Malik said President Hu Jintao has given "great commitment" and
"showed his support" for the work to fight AIDS.
"The UNAIDS will set an effective mechanism to supervise the
fund used in the right way. I hope the money can be sent directly
to those HIV/AIDS sufferers who are in need," Malik told China
Daily.
The UNAIDS has invested $50,000 on the Sunshine Program, and
about 200,000 yuan ($27,000) were donated by foreign enterprises
and private companies.
"The Sunshine Program will be launched mainly in the Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region, Yunnan and Henan provinces to give
HIV/AIDS patients skills to help them adjust to normal life," Su
Juxiang, the vice-president of CRCF, told China Daily Sunday.
"We hope more HIV/AIDS can come out, but it depends on the kind
of support and understanding that society affords them," said
Su.
Diana Peters, a German who worked for an anti-AIDS NGO in
Thailand for three years, said that it was a great idea to
encourage AIDS patients to take part in social activities, even if
they did so anonymously.
"Stigma and discrimination are potential killers for HIV/AIDS
carriers, even in advanced countries. So I am happy to see so many
Chinese concern about the life of HIV/AIDS carriers," Peters
said.
Shomik Mehndiratta, a transport specialist in the Beijing office
of the World Bank, brought his two-year-old son to join in the
walk.
"The red ribbon, the symbol of the fight against AIDS, impressed
my son. I told him today is an adventure trip signifying love and
care," he added.
(China Daily, December 3, 2007)
