Over the past years, the Vietnamese government has paid special attention to caring, supporting and treating HIV/AIDS people. The national budget for HIV/AIDS treatment has increased year-by-year, helping more AIDS people get access to anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy.

Deputy Minister of Health Trinh Quan Huan said the ministry has issued a number of instructions and guidelines to develop healthcare, programmes and healthcare establishments for the purpose of providing effective care and treatment for HIV/AIDS patients.

Associate Professor Nguyen Duc Hien, director of the National Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (NIITD), said the treatment network has been put in place but its organizational structure and operational activities have not been conducted synchronously among localities and units. In those localities where there are outpatient clinics, projects and programmes in operation the results prove more effective than in other localities. At the district level, human and material resources, equipment, and drugs have not been adequately available for the long-term care and treatment of HIV/AIDS people.

Mr Hien added that the Ministry of Health has not yet issued specific regulations on the number of hospital beds for HIV/AIDS people, or offered any support for staff involved in treating HIV/AIDS people.

At the conference, participants discusses measure to enhance the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment by streamlining the organizational structure, investing more in building equipment, as well as managing the supply and distribution of ARV medicine in Vietnam.