[VN Courier 4/7] Vietnam steps up the fight against HIV/AIDS

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Vietnam steps up the fight against HIV/AIDS

By Hai Yen

Do Kim Son, an HIV-affected person, is a member of the Friends’ Mutual
Help group in Ho Chi Minh City a voluntary organisation that takes care
of persons affected by HIV/AIDS.

Son, who contracted the virus through an intravenous drug injection, was
the first Vietnamese invited to attend an international HIV/AIDS
conference in Canada last year. Son and other persons like him are
contributing to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Vietnam.

As June 14,1997, 6,148 Vietnamese have been identified as HIV carriers,
of whom 784 developed AIDS and 435 had died.

About 83% of all HIV-positive persons are male, mostly of working age.
Some two-thirds of sufferers contracted HIV through drug injection, but
this means of infection is dropping as sexually transmitted HIV is on
the rise. 

Ho Chi Minh City is leading all other urban centres in Vietnam with
2,299 persons testing HIV-positive. Next comes Khanh Hoa province with
444 HIV-affected persons. Quang Ninh province is leading all northern
urban centres with 204 cases.

However, an official of the National HIV/AIDS Committee said that the
figure is only ”the tip of the iceberg“ and that the actual number could
be 10 or even 100 times higher.
According to the National HIV/AIDS Committee, Vietnam has opened four
HIV/AIDS treatment centres in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Khanh Hoa.

The medical service ordered all blood donations tested before blood
transfusion, and found that 113 of the blood donors were HIV-positive.

The medical service says it is monitoring 50-88% of all HIV/AIDS
patients in different localities (75% in Hanoi, 88% in Ho Chi Minh City
and 58% in Danang). 
Funding is the biggest problem for the medical service. If a patient
takes only one kind of medicine, the cost is estimated at 20 million VND
(1,800 USD) a year. But the cost doubles or triples when a combination
of drugs are used. 
The State allocated 45 billion VND (4 million USD) in 1995 and 50
billion VND (4.5 million USD) in 1996 to fight HIV/AIDS.

The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs is monitoring
more than 900 HIV/AIDS patients, has helped 4,896 sex workers to quit
and 12,395 drug addicts to go straight.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union has opened HIV/AIDS consultancy
centres in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Khanh Hoa. The HIV/AIDS Committee
and the Women’s Union of Ho Chi Minh City have joined efforts in giving
free medical checkups to those persons suspected of contracting sexually
transmitted diseases and organising Friends’ Mutual Help groups.

With 55 billion VND (5 million USD) granted by the State for 1997, the
National HIV/AIDS Committee has launched a campaign to raise public
awareness about this deadly disease. It has also combined efforts
against social vices with the fight against the spread of HIV infection,
taken measures to prevent the spread of HIV in the medical service, and
funded the management and treatment of HIV/AIDS patients.

The Committee has called for international assistance in these efforts,
cooperated with bordering countries in preventing the spread of HIV, and
actively participated in anti-HIV/AIDS efforts in the region,
particularly ASEAN member countries.
Vietnam has received international assistance such as Project VIE 93/009
on ”Raising the capacity of coordination, planning and management of
HIV/AIDS in Vietnam“ funded by UNDP with one million USD for 1996-1997,
the project on ”Preventing the spread of HIV and other diseases in
sexual intercourse“ funded by the FRG with 312,000 USD, and the 200,000
USD ”HIV/AIDS prevention in youth clubs“ funded by AUSAID.

VNC