Vietnam Launches Action Month against HIV/AIDS

Vietnam has launched the National Action Month for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control 2014 on Nov 10 in an effort to better curb the transmission and discrimination of this disease in the community. During the month, state agencies and organizations will hold various activities, including public meetings, exhibitions, displays, music performances, and seminars with the participation of famous people and people living with HIV. The activities and campaigns aim to raise people’s awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention as well as better protection amongst high-risk groups and people in remote areas. Vietnam has conducted different programs to stop HIV transmission by 2030, in line with the world’s efforts to eliminate the epidemic out of the community. The Southeast Asian country targets to bring all children vulnerable to HIV to schools by 2020. However, the country is facing financial shortage to fulfill the targets as up to 75% of the expenses for HIV/AIDS control is sourced outside Vietnam. As of end-August, Vietnam has 223,000 people caught with HIV but the actual number is higher, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said. Each year, Vietnam has additional 12,000 people caught with HIV and 2,000 HIV/AIDS-caught deaths. (Dangcongsan.vn Nov 12)