People's awareness of HIV/AIDS improved markedly
Ha Noi, April 5 (VNA) -- People's awareness of the global epidemic HIV/AIDS has been improved markedly thanks to nationwide efforts to disseminate information about the disease, Public Health Minister Do Nguyen Phuong said.
Mr.Phuong was speaking to a two-day conference in Ha Noi on April 5 reviewing HIV/AIDS prevention activities over the past 10 years.
He further said between 60-70 percent of people in the 15-49 age bracket obtained necessary information about ways to prevent the spread of HIV. As a result, prejudice against HIV/AIDS sufferers was reduced with 54 percent of families having HIV/AIDS patients now caring for their members at home. The rate of people tested HIV/AIDS positive being controlled, cared for and advised rose to 65 percent in 1999 from 10 percent in 1994. More than 77 percent of HIV/AIDS patients were provided with care from medical workers, 90 percent with medicine and nearly 40 percent with material support. Several pilot models on reducing the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS were carried out first in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City and then expanded to 28 other provinces and cities. The numbers of drug addicts and prostitutes using HIV-prevention measures were on the rise.
However, Minister Phuong, who is also deputy chairman of the National AIDS Committee, admitted that the dissemination of information failed to meet the requirements from a rapid and complicated development of the epidemic in recent years. HIV/AIDS specialists working directly with the patients were insufficient, qualitatively and quantitatively. Blood transfusion and other health care services failed to meet safety requirements. The conference was told that not all reserve blood is tested thoroughly before transfusion.
Minister Phuong warned that by 2005, Viet Nam will have about 200,000 HIV sufferers and 50,000 full-blown AIDS patients and 45,000 will die of the fatal disease. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is spreading in some places in Viet Nam, leaving severe socio-economic impacts on society and an effective prevention strategy is needed right now.
On the objectives of AIDS prevention activities in 2001-2005 in Viet Nam, the Health Minister said the country will exert efforts on controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS in the community, slowing down the process of HIV-positive people developing AIDS and reducing the disease's negative impacts on socio-economic development.
He added that Viet Nam is striving to help more than 90 percent of State employees, mass organization members and armed forces' servicemen, 80 percent of urban population and 70 percent of rural and mountainous population understand the disease and actively join AIDS prevention activities.
The country also plans to control, care for and provide consultancy to 90 percent of HIV/AIDS patients and provide necessary advices and care to all pregnant mothers having contracted HIV by 2005. Forty provinces and cities by 2005 should be capable of making assessment and forecasts about HIV/AIDS development in their own localities, and ensure that all reserve blood for transfusion throughout the country is tested HIV free.
Another target is to build laboratories in all provinces and cities and establish HIV/AIDS treatment centres for needy HIV/AIDS sufferers. The Health Ministry also encourages the use of traditional medicine in treating AIDS patients and mutual care between HIV/AIDS patients with support from their families.
Viet Nam had detected 28,661 HIV carriers by Dec. 31, 1999 since the first case was found in 1990. Of them 4,728 have developed full-blown AIDS and 2,510 died of the disease.
In 2000 alone, 33 more people were detected HIV positive a day on average. Most of the patients are drug addicts and prostitutes. Between 70-80 percent of HIV carriers are under 30. Today, the epidemic has spread to low risk groups. The rate of HIV positive people among to-be-recruited soldiers rose to 0.96 percent in 2000 from zero in 1994 while that of pregnant women increased to 0.2 percent in 2000 from 0.02 percent in 1994.--VNA
