National Action Month on HIV/AIDs Prevention and Control 2023 to be launched

Vo Hai Son, deputy head of Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control, speaks at the event (Photo:tiengchuong.chinhphu.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – The National Action Month for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control 2023 will be held from November 10 to December 10 with a wide range of activities, aiming to mobilise the involvement of leaders, policy makers, service providers and the community in HIV/AIDS prevention and control as well as increase support for people living with HIV, an official has said.

Speaking at a press conference held in Hanoi on November 9 on the occasion of World AIDS Day (December 1) and National Action Month for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control 2023, Vo Hai Son, deputy head of Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) under the Ministry of Health, said seminars, running events, music galas and drawing contests will be organised during the month to raise people’s awareness on the disease.

Eric Dziuban, Vietnam Country Director of US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said Vietnam is one of the leading countries in terms of public health response. Vietnam's lessons have been learned and implemented by other countries.

According to Bui Hoang Duc from VAAC, 10,219 new HIV infections were detected in Vietnam in the first nine months of this year and 1,126 people had died.

There are nearly 250,000 people living with HIV across the country. Infections are concentrated in southern provinces, with 60% of new HIV cases detected in the Mekong Delta, the Southeast, and Ho Chi Minh City.

The rate of HIV infections in the 16-29 age group has been increasing since 2022, accounting for 50% of the total number of newly detected infections, he said, adding that the infection rate is also rising in the group of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people.

In the first nine months of 2023, 177,009 HIV carriers received antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, meeting 80% of the designed target and the number of people receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment surpassed the target, Duc said./.