Photo: tintuc

Vietnam is among a few countries that will test the 2.0 therapy for HIV treatment, a health official has said.

Associate Prof. Dr. Bui Duc Duong, Deputy Head of the HIV/AIDS Control Department, announced the information at the 10 th International Congress on AIDS in Asia – the Pacific (ICAAP10), held in Busan city of the Republic of Korea on August 29.

The new therapy will be piloted in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho and the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien from October, 2011 to December, 2012.

As a joint initiative between the World Health Organisation and the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the project aims to simplify, reduce costs and improve efficiency of HIV treatment.

According to the delegates, almost Asia – Pacific countries, including Vietnam which is one of 11 regional countries that most heavily affected by HIV, are still far from targets of accessing HIV prevention, treatment as well as care and support to HIV patients.

The latest statistics released by UNAIDS showed that the number of newly-infected HIV cases in the Asia-Pacific region decreased by 20 percent from 2001 to 2009. However, it was estimated that 4.9 million people were living with HIV in the region in 2009.

Vietnam, one of 11 regional countries that are most heavily affected by HIV, has seen a 18-fold increase in the number of HIV patients receiving treatment in the past five years, but more than half of adult patients have yet to access to anti-viral treatment therapy.

Participants emphasised the need to work out programmes for high risk groups, strongly reform legal and policy frameworks related to HIV and mobilise resources to ensure sustainable budget for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Source: VNA