World Bank gives Vietnam US$35 million to fight AIDS
The World Bank said Wednesday it has approved a grant of US$35 million (€27 million) to support Vietnam's fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS into the general population. Vietnam has recorded some 85,000 HIV carriers since the first case was detected in 1990. However, health officials believe the actual number of infected people is closer to 245,000.
The country's national AIDS strategy is aimed at reducing the infection rate, increasing awareness, and changing attitudes and behavior toward the epidemic among the general population and policy makers. "Discrimination is hindering strategies to halt transmission of HIV," Klaus Rohland, director of the World Bank in Vietnam, said in a statement. "We will support the government's efforts to aggressively and carefully create behavioral changes through communication efforts to reduce stigma."
The grant, approved Tuesday, supports the development of innovative ways to help reduce transmission of HIV/AIDS, which is increasing among young people. More than 60 percent of Vietnam's reported cases are people between the ages of 20 and 29, many of them in the high-risk groups of intravenous drug users and sex workers. The funding will also support efforts to develop a national system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the national AIDS prevention program, the World Bank said. More than 60 percent of the grant will be used to support the design and implementation of specific action plans in 18 provinces throughout the country, it said.
The Associated Press - March 30, 2005
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