Great strides in HIV/AIDS prevention
(VOV) - The considerable reduction in new infections and fatalities over the past four years has demonstrated Vietnam’s extraordinary effort in combating the lethal disease.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long cited the encouraging statistics at a December 7 workshop in Hanoi, saying it shows the national HIV/AIDS prevention programme is on the right track.
Vietnam now has 206,000 people living with HIV, and the disease has already claimed 53,000 lives.
Long said Vietnam has undertaken a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention programme and launched communication campaigns that raise public awareness of the disease and change its behaviour towards HIV/AIDS patients.
The campaigns encourage HIV carriers to use condoms and clean syringes and participate in the methadone treatment programme.
He said 24 million clean syringes are now distributed every year. Methadone treatment has proven successful since a pilot programme was launched three years ago.
The government has instructed the Ministry of Health to replicate the Methadone treatment programme across the country. To date 60 such centres have been established, serving the treatment needs of 11,000 HIV carriers.
More than 65,000 patients have received antiretroviral drugs (ARV) since the 2005 introduction of the treatment in Vietnam. It has helped reduce the disease’s annual mortality rate from 10,000 to 1,000-2,000.
By 2010, the mortality rate amongst HIV/AIDS carriers had fallen 70 percent compared to 2005, earning Vietnam international acclaim.
Tony E. Lise, UNAIDS Vietnam Country Director, noted that although the world has made marked progress in reducing new infections, they remain too high. He quoted statistics, revealing 5 million new cases were recorded in 2011, 18 million people have yet to receive the treatment they desperately need, and many people are still ignorant when it comes to the disease.
He confirmed Vietnam’s considerable contributions to the global HIV/AIDS prevention campaign.
From 2005 to 2008 the number of people benefitting from ARV treatment increased 22fold, saving 18,000 lives.
He singled out Vietnam’s syringe and condom programmes for special commendation, noting they target new infections among high-risk groups.
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Nguyen Thuy Anh, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs, said that over the past 20 years the NA has revised legislation to establish a firm foundation for HIV/AIDS prevention.
The NA has approved the HIV/AIDS Prevention Law and the national target programme on HIV/AIDS prevention in the 2011-2015 period. She reiterated the legislative body’s commitment to closely monitor the enforcement of the law and the implementation of the programme to ensure their efficiency.
The Government has instructed the Ministry of Health to develop a master plan on HIV/AIDS prevention with a vision until 2020. The plan will define the State’s role in sponsoring prevention programmes.