Zagreb, (IKA) — The Croatian Caritas Fund for Improving the Quality of the Lives of HIV-Positive Children and the Systematic Raising of HIV Awareness officially began a national campaign on Friday, October 18, directed at raising public awareness regarding the needs of HIV-positive persons and the level of their integration into the society. The basic goals of the campaign are raising public awareness in the Croatian society regarding the problems of HIV-positive persons, AIDS prevention education, improving the quality of the lives of HIV-positive children and promoting a better legal framework with which to solve problems of this type. In Croatia, there are approximately 15 children infected with the HIV virus.
The Church cannot accept the segregation and marginalization of those afflicted by misfortune, emphasized the president of Croatian Caritas and the Fund, Archbishop Ivan Prendja of Zadar, at a press conference organized at the Secretariat of the Croatian Conference of Bishops in Zagreb. He added that the Church is obligated to join with all those who contribute to the understanding and prevention of this disease and should provide assistance to those already afflicted.