Hanoi released a plan dated February 20 to end HIV/AIDS by 2030 while minimizing the impact of HIV/AIDS on socio-economic development.

Accordingly, Hanoi has set targets that by 2023, 90% of all people living with HIV will be aware of their HIV status, 90% of HIV carriers will receive sustained antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, and 98% of all people receiving ARV treatment will be virally suppressed. Especially, mother-to-child infection is expected to disappear by 2030.

The quality of HIV/AIDS treatment will be improved by updating the latest recommendations in the field, ensuring the safety and efficiency of therapy. Photo: Hanoi Department of Health

Meanwhile, the capacity of the health system to prevent and control HIV in all districts of the capital will be strengthened, and the human and financial resources for this work will be secured.

The plan also identified three broad sets of solutions to meet the targets, including those on providing treatment and care for people living with HIV.

Coverage of HIV/AIDS treatment services will expand by offering ARVs to HIV carriers as soon as they are diagnosed with the virus, and by extending treatment to patients in detention centres and social institutions.

Private health facilities will be encouraged to play a role in HIV/AIDS treatment, and community-based treatment services will be expanded. Pregnant women will also be offered HIV counselling and testing.

Moreover, the quality of HIV/AIDS treatment will be improved by updating the latest recommendations in the field to ensure the safety and effectiveness of treatment.

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH), HIV/AIDS prevention and control is the only medical programme in the country to have a specific government decision providing guidelines for a financing guarantee mechanism. The plan created an important legal corridor for measures to ensure sustainable funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The MoH reported that Vietnam is currently one of the four countries in the world with the best HIV/AIDS treatment, along with Germany, the UK and Switzerland.

The Ministry also reported that the rate of HIV-infected people on ARV treatment with viral loads below the inhibitory threshold has reached 96% in Vietnam. This has helped to reduce HIV infection in the community.