Dr. Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm, head of VAAC's Prevention Department, introduces the toolkit in Bangkok. -- VNS Photo Khánh Dương

Khánh Dương

BANGKOK — A training toolkit for community outreach workers in Việt Nam dealing with chemsex has been introduced on Thursday during the sixth Asia-Pacific Chemsex Symposium in Bangkok.

The toolkit has been developed by the Việt Nam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) in collaboration with HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, with the assistance of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The toolkit is designed to support clinical services for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people involved in chemsex.

In Việt Nam, outreach workers that offer HIV services this community of people will benefit from the toolkit.

They will be able to recognise chemsex behaviour and the hazards that go along with it, as well as provide HIV prevention strategies to people who use drugs to enhance sex.

Chemsex, which involves using drugs to enhance sexual experience, is emerging as a significant concern for the increased risk of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections.

According to VAAC, MSM is one of the three high-risk groups for HIV infections, along with female sex workers and drug uses who inject.

Talking about the challenges of reaching MSM group engaging in sexualised drug use in Việt Nam, Dr Nguyễn Thị Minh Tâm, head of Prevention Department, VAAC, said the lack of acceptance in society prevents this group from coming out and from using other harm reduction services that are intended for them.

There are many chemsex community-based organisations in Việt Nam which provide harm reduction services to MSM to prevent HIV/AIDS.

Particularly when it comes to media and social networks, there are numerous outreach methods. In order to reach MSM communities, they use independent dating apps and internet platforms to help spread knowledge about HIV prevention and control. They also direct them to HIV testing facilities, antiretroviral (ARV) drug and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services, she said.

“Only community groups can best reach the MSM community. The main driver of harm reduction interventions is the community outreach workers," she told Việt Nam News.

The HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, one of the toolkit's developers, has conferred with MSM groups and community-based organisations in order to build both theoretical and practical skills, in accordance with the guidelines provided by international organisations.

“Community-based organisations themselves are those who test the toolkit and give us feedback,” Tâm said.

Since June this year, the toolkit has been piloted by local community-based organisations which provide harm reduction interventions to about 174 MSM clients. It is anticipated that 200 to 300 MSM clients will receive assistance by November.

The VAAC plans to officially launch the toolkit at the beginning of 2025 with the expectation of providing harm reduction interventions to areas reporting a large number of MSM population, especially southern localities.

“Chemsex harm reduction interventions have been implemented in Việt Nam for a long time but only in a small scale. This will be the first time a chemsex toolkit will be applied on a national scale,” Tâm said.

Quinten Lataire, acting country director for UNAIDS in Việt Nam, said the role of community-based organisations can not be underestimated. The toolkit addresses those issues that have been identified as being important in the context of sexualised drug use.

“What we have done is developing the toolkit hand in hand with them, identified those issues that they see as need. Initially they are focusing on HIV, STIs, the it goes expanded to mental health components as well.”

“The toolkit gives the community-based organisations the tools and capacity sometime they miss towards those issues and to support their peers. That support of their peers is absolutely crucial because the community outreach workers are the one closest to their own community logically. They are the extended arms of public health system,” he told Việt Nam News.

He also commend the Ministry of Health and VAAC for recognising that and working hand in hand with communities in making sure that we have the most effective HIV response in place.

The toolkit provides critical, up-to-date information to help outreach workers better deal with situations they may encounter. — VNS