Centers

UNAIDS estimates there are 40,000 new HIV cases each year in Vietnam [1]. Nationally, HIV prevalence is estimated to be 0.4%, but in the major cities prevalence is 1% [2]. The epidemic was largely driven by injecting drug (heroin) use among young men in major cities (accounting for about 80% of reported HIV cases) [3]. More recently, the epidemic has spread rapidly to IVDU’s female partners and their children, female sex workers who use IV drugs, and urban MSM [4, 5, 6]. In Hanoi alone there were 10,000 cumulative cases by the end of 2005.

Vietnamese Government funding for HIV has doubled since the beginning of the 21st century, with UNDP, SIDA, and PEFPAR providing support to the government for policy, prevention, and treatment. ART is being scaled up quickly in Vietnam. Nationally, as of 2007, 69% of people with advanced HIV have received ART. In Hanoi, which has some of the best ART treatment centers in the country, more than 2000 people have access to ART. The Ministry of Health is responsible for the overall coordination and management of the national antiretroviral therapy program. The major funders for ART in Hanoi are the Global Fund, PEPFAR, Esther, and the Clinton Foundation, with ART available at several public hospitals and from semi-private doctors.