Localities should invest more in the fight against HIV/AIDS as international aid and State budget for the effort are sharply dropping, said participants at a conference in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on April 3 on ways to end HIV/AIDS by 2030.

According to Kristan Schoultz, Chief Representative of the United Nations Joint Programme (UNAIDS) in Vietnam, joint efforts of all localities will help deal with tough issues in HIV/AIDS control.

She added that it is necessary to be clearly aware that the fight is not only the responsibility of central agencies and the health sector, but also every people.

Participants at the conference shared views on how to maintain sustainable financial sources for the fight against HIV/AIDS, key plans for the work after 2015 as well as difficulties in the work.

Proposals of southern localities as well as well as the role of the People’s Councils in supervising the implementation of policies to fight HIV/AIDS were highlighted.

A friendly society to people living with HIV/AIDS is also crucial in ending HIV/AIDS, they said.

According to Hoang Dinh Canh, deputy head of the Ministry of Health’s Department for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, currently, Vietnam has over 226,800 people living with HIV/AIDS, including 71,000 suffered AIDS.

He said the country’s strategy for the fight will focus on targeted areas and high-risk groups. The HIV/AIDS combating network will be completed, while health insurance will be expanded for people living with AIDS, he added.

Canh revealed that the strategy targets 90 percent of HIV cases are tested, and 90 percent of HIV carriers receive treatment by 2020, thus eliminating the epidemic by 2030.-VNA