Health Ministry boosts HIV/AIDS-testing

Ministry of Health increases HIV/AIDS testing (Source: Photo VNA)

The Agency of HIV/AIDS Prevention under the Ministry of Health said on July 29 out of 1,345 existing HIV/AIDS testing and consultation facilities, 95 are allowed to declare patients positive or negative for HIV/AIDS.

These facilities have offering counselling and testing to 260,000 people, 5,000 of which were positive for HIV. However, the testing rate, especially among high-risk groups, is still low at only 30 percent.

The agency cited many challenges facing HIV consultation and testing such as lack of testing supplies, money, medication or discrimination.

To overcome the issues, the Ministry of Health has opened new facilities, upgraded old ones and is providing mobile testing services.

The ministry will also work with community consultation organisations to send at-risk individuals to health centres for testing.

In the first five months of this year, the ministry opened three new testing facilities in Ha Giang, An Giang and Binh Phuoc and upgraded 55 facilities.

Provincial-level testing facilities are available in Son La, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen and Thanh Hoa and district-level facilities, located mostly in remote districts, are offered in Dien Bien, Yen Bai, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Thai Nguyen, Son La, Quang Ngai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Kien Giang.-VNA