At a ceremony held in Hanoi on June 4 to mark the 10^th anniversary of the National Committee for Fighting HIV/AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution, Mr Trong, who also heads the committee, said these social problems threaten the country’s sustainable development, its national security and its social order.

He asked related agencies to build strategies for the next five and ten years to achieve specific targets through practical measures. He stressed the importance of coordination between Party committees, tiers of government, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front to combine their strength in this struggle.

The Deputy PM praised the role of the National Committee for Fighting HIV/AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution over the past decade, saying it did well in devising strategies and action programmes, substantially raising public awareness of the harmfulness of drugs, and ways to prevent and treat AIDS. He also praised state employees, Buddhists, and societies that have patiently overcome numerous difficulties to help drug addicts and HIV-infected patients reintegrate into society.

In the last decade, specialized forces have uncovered nearly 112,500 criminal drug cases, seizing nearly 1,900kg of heroin, more than 2,500kg of opium, and 800,000 tablets of ecstasy. They also slashed the area that grows drug producing trees from 428ha in 2000 to about 30ha in 2009 and tackled more than 13,907 prostitution cases involving over 47,000 violators.

In this struggle, dozens of military and police personnel were killed and more than 300 others wounded or exposed to HIV.