CPV: The US Government this week cooperated with Vietnamese-related agencies to open two new clinics in Hanoi showcasing American support for Vietnam’s efforts to address HIV/AIDS on November 30, 2010 in Hanoi.
To mark the World AIDS Day on December 1 and 20 years of national commitment to address HIV/AIDS in Vietnam, US Ambassador Michael Michalak and Hanoi’s Department of Health Director, Le Anh Tuan, opened a methadone clinic for heroin users in the city’s Son Tay district.
This is the third methadone clinic the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has supported in Hanoi and the 13th one supported by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Vietnam. The clinic will complement the other HIV-related services which are now available in Son Tay district. These services help reduce the transmission of HIV and improve the health status and quality of life of drug users.
PEPFAR supports methadone maintenance therapy in Vietnam in order to reduce HIV and other related diseases among drug users, reduce drug dependence, and support drug users' reintegration into the community. Heroin users in Son Tay district and surrounding areas can now have access to free, effective, evidence-based treatment. This is complemented by counseling, social support and referral to other health services including accessing anti-retroviral therapy.
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illustration photo - source:tintucthuongmai |
“In total, since 2004, the United States has provided more than $400 million, which accounts for over 70 percent of financial resources allocated for HIV programs in Vietnam,” Ambassador Michalak told officials and residents in Son Tay on November 29. This assistance includes training of health and outreach workers, counseling and testing, equipping health facilities, supporting staffing of clinics, and providing all of the methadone and over 70 percent of the anti-retroviral treatment available in the country today.
“We look forward to collaborating with a range of Vietnamese government authorities from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Public Security as Vietnam strengthens its capacity in the coming months and years to assume an increasing portion of methadone treatment and a range of other HIV-related health programs with its own human and financial resources,” Ambassador Michalak said.
On November 30, USAID’s Acting Mission Director Michael Foster and Vietnamese officials cut a ribbon to formally open the doors of an HIV outpatient clinic in Hanoi's Soc Son District. This facility will provide people living with HIV in Soc Son and surrounding districts with high-quality clinical care, support, and treatment services for 400 patients in its first year. It will also offer voluntary counseling and testing and prevention counseling for 750 individuals over the next 12 months. It will also provide services to people staying in a state-run drug rehabilitation center nearby.
"We need to reach people that are most at risk of HIV in Vietnam, such as drug users at rehabilitation centers," said Foster. "This collaboration is giving us our first real chance to reach people at this center and help stem the epidemic."