EURENT

Bulgaria joins Thursday many countries all over the world in marking World Aids Day for the eight consecutive year.

The Bulgarian Healthcare Ministry has launched a nation-wide informational anti-AIDScampaign aiming to promote safe sex among the country's population, as well as a more tolerant attitude towards those who are living with AIDS.

Mobile HIV testing clinics will be available on Thursday at several key spots in downtown Sofia. At 6 pm, the Bulgarian Red Cross youth organization will organize a candlelight vigil set to coincide with the lighting of the big Christmas tree in the capital.

According to the Bulgarian Healthcare Ministry, a total of 1438 HIV-positive people are currently registered in the country, 166 of whom are newly discovered cases from 2011 (135 men and 31 women).

An estimated 34 million people around the world, half of them women, are living withHIV.