Bình Dương Province received US$93,500 from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for its 2020 HIV/AIDS control and prevention plan. — Photo www.thuvienbinhduong.org.vn

BÌNH DƯƠNG — The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has given the southern Vietnamese province of Bình Dương US$93,500 (VNĐ2.1 billion) to fund its action plan for HIV/AIDS control this year.

Đặng Minh Hưng, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the plan seeks to provide essential healthcare services for people living with HIV and their partners.

It hopes to reduce the rate of HIV infection among people who inject drugs by 25 per cent and sexual transmission by 20 per cent compared from five years ago, he said.

Testing for early detection of HIV at medical facilities and community-based healthcare for high-risk groups would be expanded, he said.

The aim is to have 90 per cent of all people with HIV know their status, 90 per cent of that group access sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90 per cent of the treated patients having the viral load suppressed, he said.

He called on the local Department of Health to improve its information system to promote effective strategies and solutions to cope with the disease.

According to the province’s Centre for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control, nearly 700 new cases of HIV were found last year, almost 30 per cent of them permanent residents.

Also, 170 people with HIV developed AIDS, and there were 219 deaths due to AIDS.

The province has so far diagnosed more than 7,560 people with HIV, 59 per cent of them permanent residents. Of them, 2,291 developed AIDS and 965 have died. — VNS