The figure has so far raised the total number of living HIVpatients to 208,800; up to 94,900 of them developed into AIDS and 98,500 weredead. The rate of HIV/AIDS infection was curbed below 0.3 percent.
The health sector launched awareness campaigns nationwidewith hundreds of articles featuring HIV diagnosis and treatment towards thegoal of diagnosing 90 percent of all HIV-positive persons, providingantiretroviral (ARV) therapy for 90 percent of those diagnosed and achievingviral suppression for 90 percent of those treated by 2020, thus eliminatingAIDS by 2030 and using health insurance for HIV patients.
Localities distributed clean injection needles to nearly106,000 drug abusers, condoms to over 62,000 others, 35,500 sex workers, 67,600gays and nearly 16,500 wives and sexual partners of HIV patients in 52 citiesand provinces.
The number of establishments offering methadone therapy rosefrom 294 in 2017 to 314 in 2018 in all the 63 cities and provinces, benefitingmore than 54,200 patients, up about 3,000 from 2017.
The Healthy Ministry is studying a plan to treat drugaddition by burpronorphine.
More than 1,300 medical stations nationwide are offering HIVtesting services while ARV treatment is available in all the cities andprovinces nationwide, with clinics offering the treatment rising from 401 in2017 to 429 in 2018. ARV medicines were distributed at 652 medical stations, 32prisons and two detention centres.
The rate of HIV/AIDS-infected patients joining healthinsurance has increased from 50 percent in October 2016 to nearly 90 percent now.All patients under ARV treatment in Ninh Thuan, Lai Chau, Cao Bang and Ca Mau provinceshave been covered by health insurance.
The sector strives to diagnose HIV in key and high-riskareas, detention centres and mountainous areas.
It targets treating 140,000 patients by ARV therapy andpooling financial resources for HIV/AIDS prevention and control.-VNA