Illustrative Image (Source: At Home STD Tests)Thua Thien-Hue (VNA)
– A new strategy should be applied in , with a focus
on early treatment in , , and extending
treatment services to jails and remote and poor areas, said a Health Ministry
official.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long, head
of the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, said that the
strategy aims to improve the quality of HIV/AIDS treatment.
It is also part of efforts to fulfill
the 90-90-90 target – 90 percent of all people living with HIV knowing their
HIV status, 90 percent of all people diagnosed with HIV receiving sustained
antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, and 90 percent of all people receiving
antiretroviral therapy achieving viral suppression.
It is also necessary to integrate
HIV treatment into hospital systems, especially health care facilities in
communes and wards to ensure treatment quality and reduce drug resistance.
Currently, only 172 out of 385 facilities
have applied measures to improve the quality of treatment and care for HIV/AIDS
patients, Long noted at a two-day conference to review five years of
implementing a quality improvement programme on HIV/AIDS treatment that opened
on February 21.
The quality improvement programme
focuses on service provision, quality improvement and management. It began in
2012, aiming to ensure all facilities provide standardised services, give early
access to ARV treatement and keep in better contact with patients. The
programme has benefited more than 70,000 patients.
According to the Vietnam
Administration of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, more than 205,000 people are
living with HIV across the country.
So far, 385 outpatient treatment
facilities have been opened in 63 cities and provinces nationwide, while nearly
1,000 communes and wards have provided antiretroviral medicine and supported
patients during the treatment, and 115,594 patients have received
antiretroviral therapy.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
