Youngsters in a play to spread knowledge about HIV/AIDS prevention in the central city of Da Nang (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Civil society organisations (CSOs) had contributedmuch to HIV/AIDS prevention and control, but obstacles remained in their work,experts said at conference this week in Hanoi.
Theconference was joint-organised by the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS under theVietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) and the UnitedNations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS).
Theconference coincided with World AIDS Day which will fall on December 1. Itaimed to collect ideas and propose measures to enhance CSO’sroles in HIV/AIDS prevention and control.
Expertssaid the funding for CSO work mainly came from internationalsupport, as Vietnam did not have a law or policy for State fundingfor CSOs supplying HIV/AIDS prevention services.
Pham NguyenHa, project deputy director of VUSTA, said the obstacles related to policies,funding and organisation.
To upholdthe role of CSOs, Ha asked the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDSControl and the Ministry of Health to set policies which allowed CSOs totender for services related to HIV/AIDS prevention.
Detailedguidance on the work should be issued, he said.
AssociateProfessor Tran Kim Chung from the Central Institute for EconomicManagement said to resolve obstacles related to finance, localities shouldcalculate all the international support they received and then come up with abudget to support HIV/AIDS prevention and control.
Provincialdepartments of health and departments of finance should cooperate with eachother to set up funds that were suitable for each locality, she said.
Chungproposed simplifying administrative procedures to make it easier for CSOs toaccess loans.
Speakingat the conference, Nghiem Vu Khai, deputy chairman of VUSTA, said that overthe years, Vietnam and international organisations including UNAIDS hadtried their best to reach the 90-90-90 target. This means that by next year, 90percent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90 percent ofall people with diagnosed HIV infections will receive sustained antiretroviraltherapy (ART), and 90 percent of all people receiving ART will have viralsuppression. All of the targets are towards AIDS elimination by 2030.
CSOsplayed an important role in supplying services for HIV/AIDS prevention forpeople facing high risk of the disease, he said.
The CSOsalso contributed ideas to amend laws and policies related to the issue, saidKhải, adding that they also offered free consultancy via hotlines andtraining courses.
Over thepast 10 years, Vietnam had treated nearly 60,000 heroin addictswith methadone, and was providing ARV for more than 50,000 peopleliving with HIV/AIDS, according to the VUSTA.
All ofthe patients have free medical insurance cards./.
VNA
