Activities for HIV/AIDS action month

“One House”, the second part of the play “Three in one”, featuring the lives of HIV/AIDS patients will be performed at the Kim Ma Theater in Hanoi on December 1 night to mark World AIDS Day (December 1).

The show, organized by the Vietnam National Drama Theater and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), is part of activities during the national action month for HIV/AIDS prevention and control from November 10 - December 10, themed “Towards 90-90-90 targets.”

The show will hit several provinces and cities during the month, including the central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Da Nang city, according to the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office.

A poster of the national action month for HIV/AIDS prevention and control

Other activities include the 5^th national press award on HIV/AIDS to be held in Bac Ninh on December 9, and meetings and parades across the nation.

A conference will be held to discuss payment for national procurement of Anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy sourced from health insurance, and provide support for patients treated with ARVs.

According to the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office, Vietnam has reduced the number of people with HIV to below 0.3 percent of the population. In the first half of this year, as many as 3,684 new HIV cases were detected. In 2015, the figure was about 10,000. HIV-linked deaths also declined from 3,200 to 2,000 during the past five years.

In 2014, Vietnam was the first Asian nation to commit to the “90-90-90 target” set by the UN Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) to end HIV/AIDS in Vietnam by 2020.

The program calls for 90 percent of all people living with HIV to know their HIV status, 90 percent of all people diagnosed with HIV receiving sustained antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and 90 percent of people on ARV treatment having durable viral suppression by 2020.

USAID began a program on HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Vietnam in the 90s.

In June, 2004, PEPFAR began providing aid for Vietnam for combating the disease.

Under the Plan, USAID has coordinated with relevant bodies from Vietnam and the US to realize its goals in the National Strategy on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control in Vietnam.

As of June 2015, there were 227,114 people living with HIV in Vietnam, 71,115 who had progressed to AIDS.