Addis Ababa, Dec. 3(ENA)-Some 20,500 people of all walks of life run in Nijmegen city in The Netherlands to raise funds as part of activities to support AIDS prevention in Africa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The proceeds from the day's mass marathon event would go into the execution of an AIDS support project in Ethiopia.

The mass run event was organized based on the idea generated by a project launched under the auspices of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The 15 k.m. marathon saw the participation of renowned dutch athletes, senior government officials of the Netherlands, leader of the strongest opposition party in that country and coach of the world star athlet Haile Gebreselassie, the press, information and documentation directorate quoted the Ethiopian consulate office in the Hague as saying.

Foreign Minister of the Netherlands on the occasion appealed for support to help African children who lost their parents due to the AIDS pandemic.

The fund, yet to be specified, would go into the execution of an HIV/AIDS prevention project by the Ethiopian star athlet Haile Gebreselassie.

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