Deputy Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Jan Beagle made the comment while meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong in Hanoi on November 24. She affirmed that UNAIDS will further support and work with Vietnam to promote concerted efforts in preventing the disease.

Deputy PM Trong, who is also Chairman of the National Committee on AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution, welcomed the UNAIDS delegation’s visit to Vietnam and thanked the organisation for supporting for Vietnam in preventing HIV/AIDS in the recent past. He stressed that Vietnam fully understands and values the connection between nations and international organisations in combating HIV/AIDS, drug trafficking and prostitution.

With the participation of 26 ministries and agencies, the national committee stands ready to guarantee close and united coordination at all levels, from central to local, in the fight against this social problem, he added.

On the occasion, the UNAIDS official conveyed to Deputy PM Trong the UNAIDS Executive Board’s invitation for a Vietnamese representative to join the board.