HIV/AIDS kills between 3,000 and 4,000 Vietnamese people annually

Chủ Nhật, 02/12/2018, 12:29

Annually, 8,000 new cases of HIV infections are discovered in Vietnam with approximately 3,000 to 4,000 deaths caused by HIV/AIDS being reported. HIV is one of the leading causes of death in the country.

hiv/aids kills between 3,000 and 4,000 vietnamese people annually hinh 0

2018 is the 10th consecutive year that Vietnam has experienced a fall in number of newly-discovered HIV infections, the number of transmissions to full-blown AIDS and the number of deaths caused by AIDS.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien made the statement at a meeting on December 1 in Ho Chi Minh City in response to a month of national action against HIV/AIDS and coinciding with World AIDS Day on December 1.

Over 131,000 patients are currently receiving ARV medicine and 54,000 patients are provided with methadone treatment.

However, the situation regarding the HIV epidemic remains complicated. At least 50,000 HIV-positive people are unaware of their status regarding the disease.

This year’s national action month is themed around action towards the 90-90-90 target set for 2020. This means that 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of all people diagnosed with the HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

The national action month action aims to inform more people about HIV/AIDS prevention, related policies and providing HIV consulting and testing during December.

Following the meeting, delegates visited a photo exhibition on HIV and AIDS prevention and presented gifts to HIV carriers in Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital.

VNA