USAID helps Vietnam fight against HIV

Michael Greene, country director of USAID Vietnam, said on July 27 that the project aims to enhance capacity of local civil society organizations and community-based organizations to lead the campaign in HIV prevention and treatment activities across the country.

It will expand services ranging from diagnose to treatment in localities with high numbers of HIV/AIDS carriers to obtain ‘90-90-90’ targets, which call for a scale-up of HIV testing so that 90% of people with HIV are aware of their infection, 90% of people diagnosed with HIV are linked to antiretroviral treatment (ART) and 90% of those on ART receive treatment resulting in undetectable levels of HIV in their blood.

The project will also supply technical assistance based on real demand at central, provincial and district levels to ensure sustainable systems are put in place to combat HIV/AIDS and related afflictions.

It has been estimated that without taking corrective action to successfully and significantly reduce HIV, Vietnam would have had 260,000 HIV carriers by the end of 2016, said Mr Greene.

In 2014, Vietnam became the first country in Asia to commit to implement 90-90-90 targets set by UNAIDS and as a result there have already been immense gains in the field.