Vietnam is working to expand the use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) service and antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to reduce HIV infections in the community.

ARV drugs

According to the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) under the Ministry of Health, as of September 2020, Vietnam had recorded over 213,000 people living with HIV and 107,810 dead HIV carriers since the first case was detected in Ho Chi Minh City in 1990.

Additional 11,000 new infections and 2,800 fatalities are reported in the country each year. At present, nearly 151,000 HIV carriers nationwide are treated with ARV therapy.

VAAC Director Nguyen Hoang Long said that HIV antibody tests are currently conducted at all districts nationwide, while all 63 provinces and cities are able to carry out confirmatory tests.

Vietnam is exerting efforts to expand the application of confirmatory tests to the district level.

Vietnam is one of the first countries in the world to apply the PrEP programme. As of September 30, 2020, more than 13,600 people living with HIV nationwide had been provided with PrEP service.

PrEP helps to reduce 98% of the risk of infecting HIV in the community, Long said.

Vietnam is striving to have about 30% or 60,000 people in the MSM (men having sex with men) community using PrEP by 2025, and the rate is hoped to increase to 40% by 2030.