Activities for HIV/AIDS action month

A poster of the national action month for HIV/AIDS prevention and control (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – “One House”, the second part of the play “Three in one”, featuring the
lives of HIV/AIDS patients will be performed at the Kim Ma Theatre in Hanoi on
December 1 night to mark World AIDS Day (December 1).

The show,
organised by the Vietnam National Dramma Theatre and The US President’s Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is part of activities during the national action
month for HIV/AIDS prevention and control from Nov 10 – Dec 10, themed
“Towards 90-90-90 targets.”

The show will hit
several provinces and cities during the month, including the central provinces
of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Da Nang city, according to the HIV/AIDS Prevention and
Control Office.

Other activities include
the 5th national press award on HIV/AIDS to be held in Bac Ninh on
December 9, and meetings and parades across the nation.

A conference will
be held to discuss payment for national procurement of Anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy sourced
from health insurance, and provide support for patients treated with ARVs.

According to the
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office, Vietnam has reduced the number of
people with HIV to below 0.3 percent of the population. In the fist half of
this year, as many as 3,684 new HIV cases were detected. In 2015, the figure
was about 10,000. HIV-linked deaths also declined from 3,200 to 2,000 during
the past five years.

In 2014, Vietnam
was the first Asian nation to commit to the “90-90-90 target” set by the UN
Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) to end HIV/AIDS in Vietnam by 2020. 

The programme calls for 90 percent of all people living with HIV to know their
HIV status, 90 percent of all people diagnosed with HIV receiving sustained
antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and 90 percent of people on ARV treatment having
durable viral suppression by 2020. 

USAID began a programme on HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Vietnam in the
90s. 

In June, 2004,
began providing aid for Vietnam for combating the disease. 

Under the Plan, USAID has coordinated with relevant bodies from Vietnam and the
US to realise its goals in the National Strategy on Prevention and
Control in Vietnam. 

As of June 2015, there were 227,114 people living with HIV in Vietnam, 71,115
of whom had progressed to AIDS.-VNA