Residents on the outskirts of Hanoi, including Ba Vi and adjacent localities, will receive free consultations and tests for HIV/AIDS through an intervention model launched in the locality on August 11.
The model was implemented through support from the Global Fund and the US’s AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Its objective is to increase control of HIV/AIDS in Hanoi, helping Vietnam fulfil the 90-90-90 targets the country committed with the UN. The targets mean that 90 percent of people living with HIV will know their status, 90 percent of people who know their status are on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and 90 percent of all people on treatment will have undetectable levels of HIV in their body (known as viral suppression).
Vietnam’s commitment to these ambitious targets puts the country on a course to ending its AIDS epidemic by 2020.
Under the model, Ba Vi district will partner with the Hanoi Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention to disseminate information about the epidemic and eradicate discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Ba Vi medical centre will also assist the Suoi Hai prison in the locality to ensure the early detection and treatment of all HIV infection cases.
The model is expected to mobilise the participation of the entire community in supporting people with HIV/AIDS, especially those in difficult circumstances, to access comprehensive treatments, thus easing the epidemic’s adverse impacts on social development and contributing to the city’s poverty reduction.
According to the Ministry of Health, Vietnam currently has around 260,000 people living with HIV and some 12,000 new HIV infections are detected each year. Of those living with HIV, only around 90,000 are receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.-VNA
