Financial Shortage Threatens HIV/AIDS Prevention in Vietnam

Efforts to curb with HIV/AIDS in Vietnam may be affected after foreign organizations announced that they will reduce their financial support to the country in 2013, the Ministry of Health said. International organizations including the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will reduce their donation for Vietnam’s HIV/AIDS control by 10%-15% annually from 2013. Over the past years, foreign financial sources accounted for 70% of Vietnam’s total spending for HIV/AIDS. The Southeast Asian country is forecast to need $300 million to cope with HIV/AIDS in 2020, tripling the expenditure for this disease in 2012. So far, Vietnam has 213,413 people caught with HIV/AIDS including 63,373 AIDS-caught people and 65,133 AIDS-caused deaths. HIV/AIDS-caught people still suffer discrimination, mostly in education and healthcare. (www.dangconsan.vn July 12)