Viet Nam has seen a downward trend in the number of HIV cases but at a slowing pace in recent years, according to the Ministry of Health's Viet Nam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control.

In 2011, nearly 14,200 people were tested positive for HIV, a decrease by nearly 150 compared to the year 2010, according to statistics released yesterday.

Whereas the number in 2010 decreased by 1,800 compared with 2009, which also saw more than 4,000 down from the previous year.

"The decreasing rate gets slower because the number of prostitutes using condoms tends to go down while that of heroin addicts sharing injection needles went up despite the police and community efforts," said Le Hai Son, deputy head of the administration's Supervision and Evaluation Division.

In Ha Noi, 22 per cent of prostitutes were tested positive for HIV, but only 24.5 per cent of them use condoms regularly. Meanwhile, more than 20 per cent of heroin addicts in cities and provinces sharing injection needles have been infected.

Nearly 200,000 people in the country suffered from HIV by the end of March this year.

More than 49,300 of them are currently living with AIDS with more than 52,600 having died of the disease.

As many as 90 per cent of HIV patients are between 20 and 49 years old.

It is forecast that this year the number of HIV patients can re-increase in some cities and provinces such as Ha Noi, HCM City, Son La, Thai Nguyen, Dien Bien and Nghe An, he said.

"People facing a high risk include heroin addicts and ethnic minority women whose awareness on the disease was low," Son said.

To improve HIV/AIDS prevention, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Tuesday signed an instruction, asking the Ministry of Health to preside over the National Strategy on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control to 2020 with a vision to 2030. The targets of the strategy is the vision of zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

The peak month for mother-to-child HIV transmission prevention 2012 will be launched nation-wide from June 1 to 30.

Chu Quoc An, deputy director of the administration, said, "This is a chance to further raise awareness among people in general, women of child-bearing age and pregnant women in particular, of mother-to-child HIV transmission prevention and create opportunities for pregnant women to have early access to mother-to-child HIV transmission prevention services."

Free medicine for HIV/AIDS sufferers

HIV/AIDSHIV/AIDS sufferers in the capital and neighbouring provinces can receive free medical treatment at the Infectious Disease Department of Ha Noi's Dong Da Hospital.

The free treatment is being provided under a joint collaboration project on HIV prevention and care carried out by the US and Viet Nam since 2002. The programme includes provision of anti-retro viral (ARV) medicine and other medicines for HIV-infected people free of charge.

The department has provided treatment to 881 sufferers, among them 770 are receiving ARV medicine.

Receiving their first case of HIV/AIDS in 1997, the department has become one of the country's leading healthcare centres for treating the disease, which is causing growing concerns in Viet Nam. The department has allocated 20 beds for HIV/AIDS carriers who are suffering from infections.

The Infectious Disease Department's director, Dr Pham Ba Hien, said cases that do not respond to treatment will undergo further tests to identify the cuase of disease's resistance to treatment.

"So in this case we can alter a patient's prescription," said Hien.

National and international experts often exchange knowledge with the department's staff to help them improve work on diagnosing different cases.

Staff at the hospital were also trained to be friendly and sympathetic with the patients, said Hien.

"These are qualities that are important to every healthcare worker and especially vital for those dealing with HIV/AIDS victims," he said.

A hotline for HIV/AIDS carriers and their families is available at 04 3511 8752.