HCM City (VNA) – Vietnam has seen an increase inthe number of adolescents infected with HIV, especially among gays.
Statistics from the Health Ministry showed that the number ofHIV carriers aged 15-16 rose three-fold in 2019 from 2011.
Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long, Director of the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control, attributed the increase to homosexualsex among boys and drug abuse at schools.
Among 375 patients under treatment at ChildrenHospital No.1 in Ho Chi Minh City, 57 age above 15 and 226 others age 10-15.
Over the past years, the hospital has worked closely with the Partnership for Health Advancement in Vietnam, the HoChi Minh City Disease Control Centre and other social organisations to holdtraining courses on HIV transmission prevention and control, and partnered withother units to offer vocational training to HIV-infected youths who leftschools./.