Vietnam should include HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in its national health care plan and increase State funding for them so as to maintain the good results of these schemes , a representative from the Ministry of Health (MoH) has said.

Phan Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Director of the MoH’s Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control mave the suggestion at a workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on August 29, which discussed strategies for preventing HIV/AIDS in the coming time.

She noted that most HIV/AIDS control programmes in the country have so far relied on foreign aid, which provided 80 percent of total expenses. However, many aid projects have been completed and many others have had their budget cut, requiring Vietnam to promptly put in place a good strategy to sustain the results of HIV/AIDS control efforts.

Statistics of the Department show that there are nearly 220,000 persons living with HIV in Vietnam, and the South-east region sees the highest infection rate with 408 cases per 100,000 people.

According to Huong, the MoH has worked with the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Vietnam to set up an investment strategy for preventing HIV/AISD for the 2015-2020 period. The strategy focuses on consolidating the HIV/AIDS prevention networks from the central to local levels, improving the quality of service providers, further investing in measures targeting high-risk groups and regions, and ensuring sustainable financial resources for the work.

At the end of April this year, Vietnam counted 219,163 people living with HIV and 67,557 AIDS patients. The virus has led to the death of some 69,449 people across the country.-VNA