USAID/HPI reviews five-year support people with HIV
(VOV) -The Health Policy Initiative (HPI) project provided support for six legal consultative offices over the past five years to counsel people with HIV who suffered from discrimination in jobs, education and health care.
The information was announced by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) at its meeting to review the HPI project in Hanoi on August 14.
USAID Vietnam Mission Director Joakim Parker said USAID had closely cooperated with the Vietnamese government to adopt policies to better deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
However, he said building a sustainable and long-term policy that could provide lifesaving services for those living with HIV remained an uphill challenge for all developing countries.
Since 2008, USAID/HPI project has supported Vietnam’s legal framework and trained cadres from 300 State agencies and local organisations, enabling them to work more effectively in the dialogue and policy lobbying process to improve the quality of services for people with a high risk of HIV or living with HIV.
It also helped improve the capacity of people living with HIV, and other communities,by helping them register their legal status and compose a guidebook for civil organisations.
In addition, the project had contributed to revising and issuing 13 policies and regulations on HIV/AIDS, leading to the Vietnamese government’s decision on closing rehabilitation centres for female prostitutes and to provide them with better access to crucial HIV preventative services.
The project is being implemented over five years (2008-2015) with total sponsor capital of US$10 million from the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Since 2005, the US Government has provided over US$500 million to help the country prevent HIV transmission and take care for those living with HIV/AIDS and their families.