Action month calls for entire community’s engagement in HIV/AIDS fight

Healthcare staff give advice to drug addiction patients using Methadone at a treatment facility in Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen province (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The ongoingNational Action Month for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control 2023 is themed “Creativecommunity - Determination to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030”, which stresses theneed for the entire community’s engagement in the work.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Thi Thu Huong,Director of the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control under the Ministryof Health, said the country is assessed by international organisations as abright spot in the global map of the HIV/AIDS fight. However, there remainchallenges as HIV is transmitted mostly by sexual contact, more popular amongmen who have sex with men (MSM), in recent years.

Elaborating the theme of this year’sNational Action Month, she said the community mentioned here covers ministries,sectors, and organisations from central to local levels, the private sector, and social organisations. It especially targets communities, including HIV patientsand those with high-risk behaviours such as MSM, transgender women, drugusers, sex workers, and sex partners of those persons.

The theme aims to remind thatHIV/AIDS prevention and control require the engagement of the politicalsystem from central to local levels and the entire community, along withcreative methods since the understanding about HIV/AIDS has changed much, shenoted.

The HIV situation has changed while the approach to and interventions relatedto HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment have also changed. More effective toolsare now available to control this pandemic by 2030, Huong went on.

There are currently 534 HIV/AIDStreatment establishments nationwide, including 506 supplying the antiretroviral(ARV) therapy covered by health insurance. As of September 14, there were 177,009patients receiving ARV therapy, including 2,748 children and 174,261 adults,statistics show.

Efforts are being made to expand thistherapy under the health insurance coverage and raise the rate of patients on ARVtherapy achieving viral suppression to at least 95%.

There are currently 534 HIV/AIDS treatment establishments nationwide, including 506 supplying the antiretroviral (ARV) therapy covered by health insurance. (Photo: VNA)

Toensure financial self-sufficiency, the country has been working to switchfunding for the ARV therapy from assistance sources to health insurance. It hasalso been mobilising the provision of anti-AIDS services by private health facilities. Technology application is also being boosted to manage and monitorthe pandemic, Huong said.
 
Among the 250,000 people living with HIV in Vietnam at present, 88% knowtheir status, 80% who know their status are on ARV therapy, and 98.4% of thoseon ARV therapy has achieved viral suppression./.

VNA