Vietnam will remain reliant on international assistance to combat
HIV/AIDS for the forseeable future, according to Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen
Xuan Phuc.
Speaking yesterday during a
working session with donors in central Da Nang City, Phuc said the estimated cost
for HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities over the period 2013-20 will be
nearly 27 trillion dong (US$1.28 billion).
Vietnam will try to diversify its
funding sources by seeking support from public-private partnerships and health
insurance, but it will still require financial assistance from international
donors.
Phuc asked the donors to
elaborate on their future financial commitments to help Vietnam in its fight
against HIV/AIDS.
He also emphasised the important
role played by the international community in Vietnam's success to accomplish
its National Target Programme on HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Due to the
donors' financial and technical assistance, as well as its own efforts, Vietnam
has expanded its HIV/AIDS treatment and care services while the relevant
institutional framework has also been strengthened.
He said the fight against
HIV/AIDS is ongoing because although cases of the disease are declining, it
still remains latent.
Deborah Chatsis, Canadian
Ambassador to Vietnam and President of the HIV/AIDS Prevention Coordination
Group, said Vietnam has made significant progress in fighting HIV/AIDS.
She said the international
community was committed to continuing its support in helping Vietnam prevent
and control HIV/AIDS, but added that as Vietnam had become a middle-income
country, financial assistance will be gradually reduced while technical
assistance and policy advice will remain in place.
Also yesterday, Phuc attended a
meeting to review a community-based HIV/AIDS prevention programme which has
just concluded its first phase. The programme was led by the Father Front,
together with the ministries of health and culture, sports and tourism.
Since its launch in 2008, the
programme has provided training activities for 4.3 million people nationwide
and 18 million leaflets have been distributed. This awareness-raising programme
has helped reduce the number of new HIV cases from 30,000 in 2006 to 14,000
last year.
As part of its second phase, the
programme aims to help cut the number of new HIV cases related to sexually
transmissions and drug use by half in the next three years.
Vietnam hopes to reduce the
number of people with HIV to 0.3 per cent by 2020.
News Desk
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