The seminar is co-organised by the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs and Vietnam-based UN agencies.

Opening the seminar, NA Deputy Chairman Uong Chu Luu said that the heavy consequences of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is not limited in a country or a continent, but affect all countries over the world. Cooperation among nations and international organisations, and international technical and financial assistance for poor and developing countries are very important to ensure successful efforts to prevent and combat HIV/AIDS, he stressed.

Leaders of the three countries in Indochina have paid special attention to international cooperation in HIV/AIDS control, and the cooperation has obtained positive results, he said.

The Vietnamese Party and State give both long-term and urgent priority to the fight against HIV/AIDS and urge the Party committees and local authorities at all levels and every people to take part in the endeavour, the NA Vice Chairman noted. He emphasized the need to complete a systematic legal system to create favourable conditions for the fight.

The seminar focused on six topics: the HIV/AIDS situation in the Asia-Pacific and Indochina - facts of the fight against HIV/AIDS; measures to minimise harms caused by HIV/AIDS control, difficulties and solutions; the role of laws and MPs in combating HIV/AIDS; State budget for the combat; coordination among sectors; and cooperation among parliaments in Indochina.

According to the Health Ministry, by October 2007, Vietnam had detected over 136,000 cases of HIV/AIDS, of which more than 28,000 had developed full-blown AIDS and nearly 16,000 people already died of the disease. All provinces and cities, 93 percent of districts and 49 percent of communes nationwide have HIV/AIDS patients.