Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam addresses the ceremony in Bac Giang province on December 1

In his speech, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam,head of the National Committee for AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention andControl, said that to combat HIV/AIDS, it is necessary to have joint efforts byall-level authorities, a stable financial system, a system of timely diagnosisand treatment, and HIV carriers’ privacy ensured.

To achieve the 90 – 90 – 90 targets (90 percentof people living with HIV know their status; of whom 90 percent are undertreatment; of whom 90 percent are virally suppressed) in 2020, Vietnam needs tohave detailed plans and focus on prevention and treatment. Relevant agenciesshould step up communications and take measures to ensure HIV patients’ privacyand interests, he noted.

He expressed his hope that through actions,Vietnam will successfully realise its commitments to UN organisations andbecome one of the countries taking the lead in ending this pandemic.

Valuing Vietnam’s efforts in the fight againstHIV/AIDS, Eamonn Murphy, Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asiaand the Pacific, said the country reduced the number of new HIV cases by 65percent between 2010 and 2018. It is a highlight of the region in theapplication of new initiatives to offer more service options and facilitate theaccess to HIV prevention and control services.

According to UNAIDS, there are some 5,000 newHIV infections a day. Each year, about 1.7 million people become newly infectedwith HIV, and 770,000 die from AIDS-related illnesses.

Vietnam records nearly 10,000 new HIV cases and2,000 – 3,000 AIDS-related deaths annually. 2019 is the 11th straight year theepidemic has been kept under control in the country, with decreases in thenumbers of new infections, people entering the AIDS phase and AIDS-relateddeaths.

Vietnam has been effectively implementingprevention intervention, care, support and treatment services for people livingwith HIV. It is also one of the few countries that have had HIV/AIDStreatment,including antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, covered by health insurance./.VNA

National campaign for HIV/AIDS prevention launched

A national communication campaign for HIV/AIDS prevention, called K=K – (Không phát hiện = Không lây truyền) or U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable), was launched at a ceremony on Tuesday at the Bach Mai General Hospital in Hanoi.