Vietnam Aims to Reduce Mother-to-Child Transmission Rate of HIV to below 2%

The rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the country fell by 16% between 2009 and 2015, but health experts have said that more needs to be done to reach the goal of having a transmission rate below 2% by 2020 nationwide. Many pregnant women in the country are not aware that they are infected with HIV until they are diagnosed during labor or after birth. In the first eight months of the year, seven new HIV infections were diagnosed among children, according to the Ho Chi Minh City AIDS/HIV Prevention Center. Compared to the same period last year, the city has not seen an increase in the number of cases. During the same time period, the city’s hospitals admitted 15 new HIV-infected cases from other provinces and cities, a rise of four cases against the same period last year. Of the 15 cases, eight children died because HIV was detected too late. Ho Chi Minh City is now integrating MTCT prevention into its reproductive health care. Dr.Trang of the city’s AIDS/HIV Prevention Center said that more emphasis would be given to the importance of prenatal examinations, early HIV tests and anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy. The rate of MTCT in HCM City is under 3%, she said. She also said that HIV tests for pregnant women were not available at many private health facilities. Community and health centers have been told to focus on raising awareness as well as the use of contraceptive methods as several women with HIV have had multiple pregnancies. Vietnam is one of 10 countries in the Asia Pacific region (along with China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Thailand) that accounted for 96% of the region’s new HIV infections in 2015. (vietnamnews.vn Nov 9)