WB, U.K. Plan $9M More for HIV/AIDS Prevention in Vietnam This Year

The World Bank (WB) and the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) have pledged to provide an additional $9 million for a HIV/AIDS prevention project in Vietnam this year.The funding is expected to help minimize the fatality rate of HIV/AIDS-infected people.Earlier, the $65 million project funded by the WB and the DFID was carried out in 42 provinces and cities across the country between June 2005 and Dec 2012. This project contributed to reducing the rate of HIV/AIDS infections to less than 3.6% among female prostitutes and less than 0.3% in the community in 2012 and lessening the negative impacts of HIV/AIDS on socio-economic development.According to the Department for HIV/AIDS Prevention under the Ministry of Health, more than 206,000 people were HIV positive, including 59,000 people with AIDS and 62,000 AIDS-caused deaths as of Dec 2012.There are warnings of rapid increases in HIV infections in communities in mountainous areas. The northern mountainous province Dien Bien reports the highest rate with 980 per 100,000 residents.In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, HIV rates are forecast to increase among same-sex partners and the estimated number of patients needing antiretroviral therapy will exceed 140,000 by 2015. (vov.vn Jan 3, vietnamplus.vn Dec)