against HIV/AIDS has always been a priority of Hanoi, Vice Chairman of the
municipal People’s Committee Le Hong Son said at a meeting on November 29 in
response to the (December 1).
Hanoi is facing many difficulties
in working towards the and ending the pandemic by 2030. The
90-90-90 goals mean by 2020, 90 percent of all people living with
HIV will know their HIV status, 90 percent of all people with diagnosed
infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90 percent of
all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.
As of the end of October this
year, Hanoi detected 28,421 HIV carriers, with 22,328 still alive. It is
estimated that around 4,000 people have been diagnosed with HIV, but are yet to
receive antiretroviral therapy. Social stigma and
discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients still exist, which makes the patients
hesitate to access HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services.
Vice Chairman Son said People’s Committees of
all districts and the Steering Committees for combating social evils (Committee
138) of all localities are required to build specific plans of actions to realize
the goals related to HIV/AIDS.
He urged local authorities to create favourable
conditions for community-based organisations to access high-risk groups,
provide consultations and tests, persuade HIV carriers to receive treatment and
reduce discrimination.
District administrations must allocate local
budget to activities to prevent and fight HIV/AIDS, the official said.
UNAIDS Country
Director Marie-Odile Emond said the city should take urgent action as gaps
still remain in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
‘Undetectable = Untransmittable’ (U=U) is an important message that should be
spread widely so that more people will join hands in the fight, she said. /.
Source: VietnamPlus
