Hiv aids

Vietnam has a rate of HIV-infected people receiving anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment with a viral load below the inhibitory threshold reaching 96 percent, contributing to reducing community HIV infection, Long told a meeting of the National Assembly’s Committee on Social Affairs on Tuesday. Over the past 10 years, Vietnam has kept the community HIV infection rate below 0.3 percent. According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), since 2000 the country has deployed preventive measures to stop 400,000 people from being infected with HIV while 150,000 received treatment that prevented death from AIDS. According to statistics from Vietnam’s health ministry, around 250,000 HIV patients are still alive, but only 210,000 know their HIV status. In 2014, Vietnam became the first country in Asia to adopt the 90-90-90 targets set by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, under which by 2020, 90 percent of those living with HIV would know their HIV status; 90 percent of people who know their status are on HIV treatment; and 90 percent of all patients on treatment would have undetectable levels of HIV in their bodies. USAID first supported HIV/AIDS programs in Vietnam in the mid-1990s. Despite achieving positive results in HIV/AIDS prevention and control, however, some shortcomings remain, Long said, adding the current law still has many limitations, with no specific regulation on who is entitled to access information about HIV patients. Therefore, he proposed the amended law add greater information access on HIV infectees to ensure proper treatment, payment of medical examinations and treatment costs as well as prevent infection among carers treating patients. Vietnam has been struggling to find funds for its HIV/AIDS programs after foreign donors started to pull out when it achieved middle income status. These funds are expected to dry up completely by the end of this year. By then, drugs are scheduled to be provided under …

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By Caitlin Wiesen - Resident representative in Vietnam United Nations Development Programme The ambition of the first report, published in 1990, was to shift the focus of development thinking to human capabilities rather than focus exclusively on economic growth. Increasing incomes is important, especially for the poor and vulnerable, but we also need access to quality healthcare and education to realise our full potential. Vietnam’s extraordinary achievement of joining the High Human Development group this year as a lower middle-income country demonstrates the importance of focusing on human capabilities while also striving for rapid economic growth. Vietnam’s Human Development Index (HDI) since 1990 shows one of the fastest rates of improvement globally since the indicators were introduced. The country has excelled at widening access to healthcare and education, especially in rural and remote areas, which has enabled the country to avoid a situation – common within the Asia-Pacific region – in which inequality rises with urbanisation and industrialisation. However, these impressive achievements have come at the cost of high pressure on planetary systems. This is a global problem, not unique to Vietnam – and it is the focus of the 2020 report which launched in January. The report, entitled “The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene,” rejects the idea that we must choose between people and the planet, arguing for a transformation in the way that we live, work, consume, interact – and most important of all – how we produce and use energy. The Anthropocene, or the Age of Humans, is the new geological age in which we live today, an era in which humans have fundamentally changed the planetary systems needed for life on earth. COVID-19 is the latest warning that humanity has reached a precipice. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on human development, lowering the global HDI for the first time in 30 years. But the pandemic and …

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National mourning held for former Party leader Le Kha Phieu Vietnam observed two national days of mourning for former General Secretary of the Party Central Committee Le Kha Phieu from August 14-15 at the National Funeral Hall in Hanoi, Thong Nhat Hall in Ho Chi Minh City and 25B Hall in the late leader’s hometown of Thanh Hoa. The Vietnamese Embassies abroad also held respect-paying services and opened books of condolences in commemoration of the former Party chief. Leaders of countries and political parties offered their condolences to leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State, people and the family of the Vietnamese former Party leader over his passing away. Former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu was born on December 27, 1931, in Dong Khe Commune, Dong Son District, the north-central province of Thanh Hoa. He passed away at 2.52am on August 7 at his home in Hanoi after a period of illness. NA Standing Committee convenes 47th meeting NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan speaks at the closing session. (Photo: quochoi.vn) The 47th meeting of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee opened in Hanoi on August 10. The three-day meeting focused on debating a draft of the revised Law on Residence; a draft law on amendments and supplementations to a number of articles in the Law on the Handling of Administrative Violations; a draft of the revised Vietnam Border Guard Law; a draft of the revised Law on Environmental Protection; a draft law on amendments and supplementations to a number of articles in the Law on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control; and a draft revised ordinance on preferential treatment for revolutionary contributors. Members of the committee also gave opinions on the issuance of a decree on the management and use of defence land for military production and economic development; a strategy for the development of State Audit to 2030; and a report on three years of implementing Resolution No 42/2017/QH14 on the pilot …

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