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Vietnam’s permanent representative
to the UN touted his country’s advances against AIDS at the General Assembly’s
June 11 plenary session on the epidemic.
“Vietnam has initially been able to
contain the rise of HIV infection, with HIV-infected people currently
accounting for about 0.26 percent of the population,” said Le Hoai Trung. He
cited a decline in HIV prevalence among injecting drug users from 30 percent to
17 percent; in addition, AIDS-related deaths fell from 6,000 a year to about 2,500
a year for the last two years.
Among Vietnam’s 63 provinces, he
said that in 2011, 49 conducted community outreach activities for IDUs and
female sex workers; 60 implemented needle-exchange programs; and 57 distributed
condoms free of charge.
To address continuing challenges to
its AIDS-fighting efforts, he said Vietnam will “strengthen its political
commitment on HIV, improve the legal framework and regulations, and scale up
efforts to ensure universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support
services for all in need.”
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
