Vietnam determined to end AIDS by 2030

Addressing the event, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan emphasised that HIV is not only an infectious disease, but can also be viewed as a public health issue for each country and the world as a whole, adding that this year marks 40 years since the world first discovered the HIV virus.

Vietnam has spent a total of 33 years responding to the HIV pandemic with nearly 250,000 infected people nationwide.

Up to now, the country has been gradually worked on containing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. However, in recent years the epidemic has shown signs of increasing rapidly among young people ranging between 15 and 29 years old, with newly-infected cases being mainly among men who have sex with other men, accounting for 80% of the overall figure.

Minister Lan revealed that the Ministry of Health has worked alongside relevant ministries across the country to continue to take drastic measures against HIV/AIDS by providing services ranging from HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, and treatment.

Furthermore, the Ministry has also expanded coverage of HIV/AIDS services and mobilised domestic financial resources for HIV/AIDS prevention and control, especially the Health Insurance Fund to pay for HIV/AIDS treatment services.

Ramla Khalidi, acting resident coordinator of the UN in Vietnam, emphasized that 2024 is an important milestone for the nation’s response to HIV/AIDs, noting that this is the final year before the country finishes the first five years of implementing the National Strategy on ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

According to information provided by the Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Health, Vietnam recorded 10,219 newly-detected HIV-positive cases and 1,126 deaths during the nine-month period.

Among them, 84.5% are men at the age ranging from 16 to 29 (accounting for 47.3%) and those at the age of between 30 and 39 (making up 28.2%)