US continues helping Vietnam fight HIV/AIDS

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched another five years of collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and the Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) to prevent and treat the disease in the country.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched another five years of collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and the Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) to prevent and treat the disease in the country.

According to a press release issued by the US Embassy in Vietnam, the next phase, with funds from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), aims to further reduce HIV/AIDS infections, provide care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS, and build capacity for the national health system.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long hailed the remarkable results of the last five years of the VAAC-CDC collaboration, saying that they have contributed significantly to the control of HIV/AIDS and the successful implementation of the National Strategy on HIV/AIDS in Vietnam.

Dr. Michelle McConnell, CDC Country Director, emphasised capacity building as a critical part of the strategy to ensure sustainability.

“We have had 14 years of a very successful partnership and today marks the beginning of a new phase of that partnership,” she said, adding that CDC and VAAC must work together to build capacity and plan for sustainability”.

CDC has been working in Vietnam since 2001 and Vietnam has received almost 600 million USD in PEPFAR funds to provide life-saving HIV/AIDS care and treatment services since 2004. Last year, CDC provided HIV testing and counseling services for about 120,000 people and care services to over 80,000 people living with the disease.-VNA

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