Vietnam, U.S. hold first military AIDS discussions
HANOI - The U.S. military is back in Vietnam but this time it is helping its old battlefield foe prevent the spread of AIDS through its ranks.
The U.S. and Vietnamese militaries held their first-ever discussions on heading off HIV/AIDS in a four-day seminar that ended on Thursday.
The unprecedented cooperation on a sensitive topic underscores warming defense ties between Hanoi and Washington, marked last year by a U.S. warship port call and a trip to the United States by Vietnam's defense minister.
A U.S. military health specialist said prevention was key.
"It isn't that there's a problem in the military, but good prevention is what every military should do," Dr Jerome Kim, of the Hawaii-based Tripler Army Medical Center, told reporters.
Vietnam has about 80,000 reported HIV/AIDS cases, but there is no breakdown of how many are in the military. The government characterizes the disease as a "social evil," complicating treatment and prevention, foreign experts say.
About 60 percent of reported Vietnam HIV infections are related to drug use, mostly heroin. Most of the rest are sexually related transmissions. Vietnam's population is about 81 million.
AIDS experts say higher infection rates have cropped up in military recruits as well as in other groups such as expectant mothers.
"Military members are often away from their families and loved ones and can be stationed in remote areas near borders," said Jordan Ryan, Vietnam representative of the United Nations Development Program, who spoke at the seminar.
The U.N. AIDS program is working with the Vietnamese military on prevention including plans for condom distribution.
More than 100 senior Vietnamese military officials including doctors attended the three-day workshop to discuss policies on the disease, its prevention and treatment.
Thailand also sent representatives from its military, which has faced the spread of HIV through its recruits.
Reuters - April 15, 2004.
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