Vietnam aims to enhance ARV treatment covered by health insurance

A health worker is delivering ARV drugs to . (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – More than 42,000 HIV/AIDS patients in Vietnam had received
(ARV) drugs covered by the as of the end
of October.

According
to the under the Ministry of Health,
health insurance coverage for patients under ARV treatment is expected to reach
90-91 percent in 2019.

Medical
facilities have purchased ARV drugs for 48,000 patients so far this year using
the health insurance fund. The number of patients receiving the drugs is set to
climb to 103,000 in 2020.

As
of the end of the second quarter of this year, up to 96 percent of HIV/AIDS
treatment establishments had signed contracts to provide medical check-ups and
treatment covered by health insurance.

Associate
Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long, head of the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control
Department, said cities and provinces need to step up communication efforts to
encourage HIV patients to take out health insurance, thus raising the rate of
patients receiving ARV drugs.

The
department reported that 7,779 new cases of HIV and 1,428 AIDS-related deaths
were recorded in the first nine months of this year. The new HIV infections
were mostly among people aged from 16-29 years (39.4 percent) and 30-39 years
(34.3 percent)./.