Two Thirds of HIV/AIDS People in Vietnam Yet to Buy Medical Insurance

Nearly 70% of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) in Vietnam have not bought medical insurance due to lack of knowledge of the service and being afraid of discrimination, according to the Vietnam Television (VTV), the country’s national broadcaster. People who have no medical insurance will have to pay all cost for antiretroviral (ARV) treatment from 2017 when the majority of foreign organizations stop funding this kind of treatment as Vietnam has shifted to a lower middle-income country. PLWH who have no medical insurance need to pay a large amount of money for ARV therapy (ART) annually, VTV reported, adding that HIV treatment costs minimum VND4 million ($179) annually each and the cost will be eight times higher for a drug-resistant person. Currently, there are about 130,000 PLWH receiving free ART, accounting for nearly 50% of the total number of PLWH in Vietnam. Vietnam sets a “90-90-90” goal for HIV control by 2020, in which 90% of PLWH knowing their status, 90% of people diagnosed with HIV infection receiving sustained ART, and 90% of people provided antiretroviral therapy having viral suppression. Among foreign countries supporting Vietnam’s HIV/AIDS control programs, the U.S. appears to be the biggest donor. The powerful country through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supported ART to roughly 57,000 and took care more than 62,000 others since 2005. (Vtv.vn Nov 10)