Illustrative image (Photo: LIFE) Phan Thi Thu Huong, head of the Vietnam Administration forHIV/AIDS Control (VAAC), said that at a recent workshop on strengtheningcooperation between CBOs and the health sector in response to the HIV/AIDSepidemic in the country, co-organised by the Centre for Promotion of Quality ofLife (LIFE) and VAAC in Ho Chi Minh City.
She said the community-public partnership model, or C2P, acollaboration between CBOs and the health sector in HIV/AIDS prevention andcontrol, was an initiative of LIFE that had been implemented effectively tooptimise client outcomes in many provinces and cities over the past years.
“It helps improve the quality of HIV-related services provided inthe community and promote closer collaboration between COBS and public healthfacilities,” she said.
"In the context of limited human resources in the healthsector, C2P is an optimal solution to take advantage of available resourcesfrom the community and is expected to expand to other health services,"she added.
Nguyen Nguyen Nhu Trang, director of LIFE, said seven cooperationagreements had been signed between LIFE with the centres for disease control(CDC) in provinces and cities over the past eight years.
And 28 cooperation agreements were signed between CBOs with healthfacilities in HCM City, Hanoi, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Can Tho, Ba Ria-Vung Tauand Khanh Hoa.
C2P helps to increase the efficiency of transferring customers toreceive anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment and take pre-exposure prophylaxis(PrEP) drugs at health facilities, according to LIFE.
From 2020 to June 2022, 71 per cent of ARV and PrEP customersbeing treated at health facilities signed C2P cooperation agreements in HCMCity.
It has also supported nearly 5,500 patients in HCM City and DongNai with treatment compliance during the social distancing period due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
At the workshop, the US Acting Consul General in HCM City GrahamHarlow congratulated LIFE for successfully connecting, building, formalisingand nurturing the collaboration between CBOs and health facilities.
“Because of your efforts, health facilities and provincial healthauthorities who have deployed this model have experienced the positivecontributions of CBOs in case finding and client support,” he said.
Over the past several years, with support from the United StatesPresident's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United StatesAgency for International Development (USAID), LIFE’s C2P is now being activelyutilised in HCM City, Hanoi and Dong Nai province.
“It helps improve client access, care, and service quality,” hesaid.
The model had also been shown to be adaptable when responding toother health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
During COVID-19 lockdowns, CBOs used the model to maintain supportto key populations.
When clients were unable to move freely, LIFE was instrumental inworking with local health authorities and health facilities to authorise CBOstaff to deliver lifesaving drugs to people living with HIV.
Vo Hai Son of VAAC said the estimated number of people living withHIV in the country was 242,000.
Last year, the number of new cases of HIV infection was 13,223,including 1,856 deaths.
The rate of new infections in males is much higher than that infemales, and are mainly drug users, prostitutes, transgender women and men whohave sex with men (MSM), according to VAAC.
Unprotected sex with a partner carrying the infection is the mostcommon form of transmission of HIV.
Mobilising the participation of the community is one of the goalsoutlined in the national strategy to end AIDS by 2030.
“It is necessary to create a favourable legal environment, buildincentive financial mechanisms, and improve the capacity of CBOs to effectivelyparticipate in providing services in HIV/AIDS prevention and control,” Son said.
Supported by LIFE, more than 40 CBOs across the country providecounselling and tests for nearly 40,000 people at risk of HIV, and support10,000 people accessing the PrEP programme each year.
Of that figure, there are about 4,000 HIV-positive cases detected,and about 98 per cent of them receive treatment every year./.
VNA
