A programme on HIV/AIDS prevention in HCM City. (Source: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s
’s neurology and infectious has
admitted children with HIV whose mothers did not have HIV tests during their
pregnancy.
Dr Truong Huu Khanh, the department’s head, said that
the mothers were not provided counselling about HIV tests during pregnancy.
Many of them were examined periodically at private health facilities, he said.
“If they know their HIV status, they are
prescribed medicines during pregnancy and childbirth, which can prevent more
than 98 percent of mother-to-child transmission of HIV,” he added.
The programme for prevention of mother-to-child
transmission has been carried out since 2005, said Nguyen Duc Vinh, head of the
Ministry of Health’s maternal and child health department.
Vinh spoke at a conference on a national action
plan on eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and
syphilis by 2030, held in HCM City on March 27.
The rate of women receiving HIV screening before
and during is 38.5 percent, while the rate of pregnant women
receiving HIV tests during labour is 57.6 percent.
The country has nearly 2 million pregnant women
every year, and of those, more than 3,800 have HIV. Between 1,140 and 1,520
children are born from women infected with HIV.
Health staff’s counselling on and
other issues related to HIV for pregnant women is limited, according to Vinh.
In addition, health insurance does not cover the fee for HIV tests, and there
are not enough free HIV tests to serve demand.
Many pregnant women are afraid of discrimination
if they test positive for HIV, Vinh said.
The rate of pregnant women infected with
hepatitis B accounts for 10 percent to 20 percent of all pregnant women. Ninety
percent of children born from these women will be infected with hepatitis B.
The Ministry of Health has plans to improve
health care at grassroots-level health facilities with better communication and
broader access to preventive services related to HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis.
The rate of mother-to-child syphilis
transmission is 40 percent to 70 percent, while the rate of pregnant women
getting syphilis tests accounts for only around 16 percent.
Tests for the three diseases will be included in
pregnancy examinations at grassroots-level health facilities. This will help
the country eliminate mother-to-child HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis transmission
by 2030.-VNS/VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
