13% of Vietnamese prostitutes aged under 18
HANOI - Surveys in some cities and provinces of Vietnam show that 13 percent of prostitutes are aged under 18, according to local newspaper Youth on Friday.
Some 42.4 percent of prostitutes are in the age bracket of 18-25, the newspaper quoted a report presented by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health Trinh Quan Huan at a local meeting on HIV/AIDS prevention on Thursday.
By Aug. 30, Vietnam had detected over 128,367 HIV carriers, including 25,219 AIDS patients, of whom, 14,042 died. Some local men contract the disease after having sex with infected prostitutes, according to the ministry's latest statistics. The country had file records on 13,000 prostitutes in 2006.
Vietnam has targeted to reduce the HIV/AIDS infection rate among its 84-million population to below 0.3 percent by 2010, and keep it unchanged after 2020.
To this end, the country has intensified publicity about HIV/ AIDS with contents expanding into areas of virtues, lifestyle and behavior, including encouraging youths to use "ABC" preventive approach (Abstinence, Being faithful and Condom use) and keep away from such evils as drug addiction and prostitution.
Xinhua - October 12, 2007.
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