About 10,000 new HIV cases discovered in 2018

The figure has so far raised the total number of living HIV
patients to 208,800; up to 94,900 of them developed into AIDS and 98,500 were
dead. The rate of was curbed below 0.3 percent.

The health sector launched awareness campaigns nationwide
with hundreds of articles featuring HIV diagnosis and treatment towards the
goal of diagnosing 90 percent of all HIV-positive persons, providing
antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for 90 percent of those diagnosed and achieving
viral suppression for 90 percent of those treated by 2020, thus eliminating
AIDS by 2030 and using health insurance for HIV patients.

Localities distributed clean injection needles to nearly
106,000 drug abusers, condoms to over 62,000 others, 35,500 sex workers, 67,600
gays and nearly 16,500 wives and sexual partners of HIV patients in 52 cities
and provinces.

The number of establishments offering methadone therapy rose
from 294 in 2017 to 314 in 2018 in all the 63 cities and provinces, benefiting
more than 54,200 patients, up about 3,000 from 2017.

The Healthy Ministry is studying a plan to treat drug
addition by burpronorphine.

More than 1,300 medical stations nationwide are offering HIV
testing services while ARV treatment is available in all the cities and
provinces nationwide, with clinics offering the treatment rising from 401 in
2017 to 429 in 2018. ARV medicines were distributed at 652 medical stations, 32
prisons and two detention centres.

The rate of HIV/AIDS-infected patients joining health
insurance has increased from 50 percent in October 2016 to nearly 90 percent now.
All patients under ARV treatment in Ninh Thuan, Lai Chau, Cao Bang and Ca Mau provinces
have been covered by health insurance.

The sector strives to diagnose HIV in key and high-risk
areas, detention centres and mountainous areas.

It targets treating 140,000 patients by and
pooling financial resources for HIV/AIDS prevention and control.-VNA