Hanoi determines to improve HIV/AIDS prevention
The Health Department of Hanoi this year will intensify education and publicity work in a bid to raise the community’s awareness of HIV/AIDS.
Director of the Hanoi HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Centre Le Nhan Tuan said that the organisation will strive to provide anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment for 70% of HIV carriers and reduce the number of infants contracting the virus from their mothers. It will also run more publicity campaigns raising awareness of how to prevent the infection from spreading.
According to the centre’s statistics, as of late 2013, Hanoi had nearly 24,800 people living with HIV and 3,836 deaths.
The number of newly-detected cases in 2013 reduced 7.9% against the previous year’s figure. This was the third consecutive year the city recorded a decrease in newly-diagnosed patients.
Meanwhile, the rate of women living with HIV rose to 27.9% in 2013 from 22% out of the city’s total patients in 2008.
In a move to contain the spread of the disease, Hanoi has committed to raising the quality of treatment for HIV carriers as well as expanding 18 medical facilities specialising in ARV treatment.