This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 HANOI 000536 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
DEPT FOR S/GAC 
DEPT PASS USAID FOR ANE/KUNDER AND ANE-SPO BRADY 
DEPT PASS USAID FOR ANE/KENNEDY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON OSCI VM HIV AIDS
SUBJECT: HIV/AIDS IN VIETNAM:  SITUATION AND RESPONSE 
 
REF:  A) Hanoi 000223 B) HCMC 000132 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SENSITIVE: Please do not post on internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Summary:  In June 2004, Vietnam was selected as the 
fifteenth focus country under the President's Emergency Plan 
for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan).  While HIV/AIDS in Vietnam 
is a relatively recent phenomenon compared with nearby 
Thailand and others in the region, the epidemic in Vietnam is 
rapidly increasing and expanding, driven largely by a co- 
existing epidemic in injection heroin use and a growing 
commercial sex industry. Its growing prevalence among young 
adults threatens the future development of the country 
socially and economically.  With the Ministry of Health (MOH) 
estimate of overall population prevalence still fairly low at 
0.44 percent and with the epidemic concentrated among the 
most at-risk populations such as intravenous drug users and 
commercial sex workers, Vietnam still has an opportunity to 
stem the spread of HIV/AIDS into the general population. 
 
¶3.  (U) The Government of Vietnam (GVN) has shown 
considerable commitment in its HIV response.  It initiated a 
National AIDS Committee in 1987 even before the first case of 
HIV was reported in Vietnam, and initiated a sentinel 
surveillance system in 1994, which has expanded from eight to 
forty provinces. The GVN also responded with a strong 
campaign against drug use, prostitution and crime.  While 
policy and public perception initially linked HIV/AIDS with 
the `social evils' of drug use and prostitution, intensifying 
stigma and discrimination, GVN leadership including the 
President and Prime Minister has gradually begun to address 
and change those views. In 2004, the Prime Minister also 
approved a National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS Prevention, 
providing guidance for a comprehensive national response.  At 
a December 2004 conference, the Prime Minister acknowledged 
that HIV/AIDS prevention and control must be considered as a 
social development priority and proclaimed 2005 as the 
Focused Year for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Vietnam faces numerous challenges in coping with the 
new epidemic.  Besides the shortage of health care units and 
staff trained in HIV diagnosis, treatment and care, and the 
persistent stigma and discrimination against people infected 
and affected by HIV/AIDS, Vietnam lacks adequate coordinated 
national and local leadership across sectors, increasing its 
vulnerability to the growing impact of this disease.  One of 
the strategies some provinces have followed in controlling 
drug use and prostitution is to detain repeat offenders in 
rehabilitation centers.  These centers now hold nearly 60,000 
people, among whom there is a very high HIV prevalence and a 
high rate of infectious diseases among HIV-infected persons. 
However, their effectiveness is limited. 
 
¶5. (U) In order to mount an effective response to the 
epidemic, Vietnam will require increasing levels of resources 
committed to HIV/AIDS programs.  It currently commits about 
USD five million and relies heavily on international 
assistance, which was nearly USD 30 million in 2004 and is 
expected to rise substantially in 2005. 
 
¶6. (U) The Emergency Plan will inject considerable additional 
funding that will consolidate and expand U.S. agency- 
supported HIV/AIDS prevention and care activities as well as 
to initiate treatment programs in Vietnam.  USG HIV/AIDS 
activities under the Emergency Plan will also synchronize 
with the GVN's National Strategy and Action Plan Areas.  The 
Emergency Plan will emphasize closer coordination with other 
donors and over 30 international organizations to achieve the 
most efficient and comprehensive mechanisms to meet current 
needs and challenges.  As a result of these efforts, the 
United States hopes to intensify the GVN'S efforts to control 
the spread of HIV/AIDS into the general population and 
prevent the erosion of the country's economic gains.  End 
Summary. 
 
HIV/AIDS Situation in Vietnam 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Vietnam's first case of HIV was identified in 1990 
and the first AIDS case was reported in 1993.  Many experts 
describe the HIV situation in Vietnam as `explosive,' as 
numbers of infections increased from near zero to an 
estimated 215,000 in just over a decade.  According to the 
Ministry of Health (MOH), all 64 provinces in Vietnam had 
reported HIV cases by the end of August 2004.  Very little 
effective HIV treatment exists in Vietnam, and the use of 
antiretroviral therapy regimens is limited.  Because of 
relatively low general population testing due to fear, stigma 
and discrimination, most people with HIV in Vietnam do not 
even know they are infected.  Without effective 
interventions, the national prevalence rate is projected by 
MOH to rise to over 0.5 percent this year. 
 
Prevalence and Surveillance:  Drug Users and Sex Workers 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶8.  (U) The HIV epidemic in Vietnam is still considered in a 
"concentrated" phase by WHO criteria, with overall population 
prevalence estimated at 0.44 percent in 2004. (Note:  U.N. 
AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization criteria for 
a "concentrated" epidemic is a prevalence rate below 1 
percent for adults aged 15-49.  End Note.)  However, there 
are great differences in prevalence between provinces.  In 
those provinces with the highest HIV prevalence - including 
all major urban areas - HIV prevalence for women presenting 
for antenatal care (ANC) already approaches or exceeds 1 
percent.  (Note: ANC women are used as a proxy for general 
population prevalence in Vietnam. End Note.)  A recent survey 
estimated that one in every 75 families in Vietnam has a 
family member infected with HIV.  These GVN estimates may 
still underestimate the situation because surveillance is not 
conducted routinely among the general population and certain 
high-risk groups. 
 
¶9.  (U) Data regarding HIV prevalence in Vietnam is primarily 
obtained through HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HIV SS) conducted 
annually in 40 provinces for six sentinel populations: 
intravenous drug users (IDU), female commercial sex workers 
(CSW), antenatal women, sexually transmitted infection (STI) 
clinic patients, tuberculosis patients, and military 
recruits.  The vast majority of HIV infections are in young 
people less than 30 years old, with 55 percent of reported 
HIV cases between the ages of 20 and 29.  Unlike other focus 
countries under the Emergency Plan, available data indicate 
that the epidemic is primarily concentrated among those 
groups who practice high-risk behaviors, including the IDU 
population and secondarily among sex workers.  These groups 
and the sex worker clients are the key drivers of the 
epidemic in Vietnam.  Recent studies of these two sentinel 
groups suggest further rapid spread is likely to occur into 
the general population. 
 
¶10.  (U)  To date, at least 60 percent of reported HIV/AIDS 
cases have been in IDU.  IDU in Vietnam are young, with a 
mean age of less than 20 in Quang Ninh province and 21 years 
in Hanoi.  Nationwide, it is estimated that 30 percent of all 
drug users are infected.  However, 2003 GVN estimates showed 
over 50 percent and as many as 75 percent of drug users are 
believed to be infected in the larger urban settings 
including the northern provinces and Ho Chi Minh City. 
 
¶11.  (U)  A growing sex worker industry (street-based as well 
as bar-, restaurant- and karaoke-based) has also played an 
important role in HIV transmission.  HIV sentinel data show 
increasing prevalence rates in female CSW in several of the 
40 provinces.  More and more sex workers are also injecting 
drugs. Behavioral surveillance and qualitative studies 
indicate injection drug use is occurring increasingly among 
women and that female IDU, frequently turn to sex work for 
financial support.  In a recent study of street-based sex 
workers, 50 percent reported drug use (mainly heroin 
injection) and 45 percent were HIV positive.  Overall HIV 
prevalence in female CSW was 4 percent in 2003, but 
approached or exceeded 10 percent in certain urban areas 
rates. Male CSW are increasingly common, but no data exist on 
them.  There are also no surveillance data on the clients of 
CSW. 
 
¶12.  (U)  Two additional important populations not yet 
included in the sentinel surveillance system are blood donors 
and men who have sex with men (MSM).  Studies of blood donors 
indicated two of 10,000 donors screened positive for HIV. 
Information remains limited for MSM in Vietnam and they are 
still widely unrecognized by the government.  However, a 2001 
survey of 219 MSM in HCMC found MSM reported multiple sex 
partners, did not use condoms consistently and were often 
married. 
 
National Response:  Improving 
----------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (U)  The government of Vietnam has recently demonstrated 
a much greater commitment in fighting HIV.  A National HIV 
sentinel surveillance was initiated in 1994 and has expanded 
into 40 provinces.  In 2001, the government initially 
responded to the growing crime, drug and HIV epidemic with a 
Three Reductions Campaign focusing on reducing drug use, 
prostitution and crime.  More recently, in 2004, the Prime 
Minister signed a strong national HIV control strategy 
committing responses across multiple sectors.  In August 
2004, President Tran Duc Luong met with and praised doctors 
and nurses caring for HIV patients, and in a landmark event 
for changing public perception, openly met with a group of 
young people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).  The Prime 
Minister further signaled Vietnam's focus on fighting 
HIV/AIDS by convening a year-end National HIV Conference in 
December 2004.  At the conference, he spoke of the 
seriousness of the problem and noted the issues of weak 
sexuality and HIV/AIDS education for young people, the 
expansion of commercial sex and the persistence of stigma and 
discrimination.  Calling on the entire political and social 
system, the Prime Minister acknowledged that HIV/AIDS 
prevention and control must be considered as a social 
development priority and proclaimed 2005 as the Focused Year 
for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. 
 
National HIV/AIDS Strategy 
-------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (U)  In March 2004, the GVN released the National 
Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS Prevention for 2004-2010 with a 
Vision to 2020.  The strategy provides a comprehensive 
national response to the epidemic, calling for mobilization 
of government, party and community level organizations across 
multiple sectors.  The strategy takes an active stance to 
reducing drug-related HIV transmission and calls for efforts 
to diminish HIV/AIDS-related stigma, including de-linking 
HIV/AIDS from "social evils" such as drug use and 
prostitution.  The strategy calls for nine action plans to be 
developed; these plans will constitute operational HIV/AIDS 
policy and the government is currently negotiating with 
national and international stakeholders to develop these 
documents.  The action plans will cover the following areas: 
behavior change communication (BCC), harm reduction, care and 
support, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, access to 
treatments, prevention of mother to child transmission 
(PMTCT), (STI) Sexually Transmitted Infection management and 
treatment, blood supply safety and HIV/AIDS capacity building 
and international cooperation. 
 
¶15.  (U)  Two things changed in 2000.  First, the national 
coordinating authority shifted to a new body, the National 
Committee for AIDS, Drug and Prostitution Prevention and 
Control.  This committee is chaired by a Deputy Prime 
Minister, and includes 18 member ministries of the government 
and a number of other sectors, socio-political organizations 
and federations and central institutions.  Also in 2000, the 
National AIDS Bureau (renamed the National AIDS Standing 
Bureau, NASB) returned to MOH.  Then in 2003, the National 
AIDS Standing Bureau was dismantled in favor of relegating 
coordination of HIV/AIDS activities and assistance to the 
Department of Preventive Medicine and AIDS Control of the 
AIDS Division within MOH. 
 
Stigma and Discrimination 
------------------------- 
 
¶16.  (U)  Stigma and discrimination continue to pose a major 
challenge to fighting the HIV epidemic and must be addressed 
to enable people to seek health services and get the support 
needed.  Stigma intensifies the impact of HIV/AIDS at a 
variety of levels.  At the national and provincial levels 
stigma encourages prejudice in the allocation of resources 
and support mechanisms, while at the household and community 
levels stigma reduces or removes informal support structures 
that ordinarily provide support to families to cope with 
health or economic instabilities.  Discrimination against 
PLWHA and people affected by HIV/AIDS, especially families, 
is still common. HIV stigma and discrimination are compounded 
by the fact that many PLWHA are also members of marginalized 
groups such as IDU, CSW and MSM. 
 
¶17.  (U)  Policies classifying people living with HIV/AIDS as 
practitioners of "social evils" and a threat to society have 
stigmatized those infected, while simultaneously impeding any 
constructive public dialogue on the issue and hindering the 
development of more effective prevention and treatment 
programs.  Policy and program activities designed to delink 
HIVAIDS from the stigma of social evils have begun to be more 
openly discussed as an essential feature of an effective 
response in the country.  As a further signal of the 
Government's commitment to persons with or affected by 
HIV/AIDS, in January 2005, the Prime Minister released 
instructions to delink HIV/AIDS from social evils, and 
censuring discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. 
 
Drug and Prostitution Prevention and Control 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶18.  (U)  The national drug control policy of Vietnam has 
remained consistent over the past decade, combining strict 
law enforcement, socio-economic development and mass 
education. Since 1997, policy implementation has fallen to 
the Vietnam Standing Committee for Drug Control within the 
Ministry of Public Security.  Law enforcement approaches 
dominate.  No laws proscribe selling needles or syringes, 
although most pharmacists do not sell sterile equipment to 
presumed IDU.  Government rehabilitation centers, also known 
as 05/06 centers (05 centers house FSW, 06 centers house 
IDU), constitute the provincial government programmatic 
response to IDU and sex workers. 
 
Rehabilitation Centers 
---------------------- 
 
¶19.  (U)  Government of Vietnam policy on rehabilitation for 
IDU prescribes detoxification and community-based education 
as first steps in treatment. Some local governments also 
reacted to escalating crime by building social labor and 
rehabilitation centers, detaining repeat drug use offenders 
and CSW for treatment and re-education.  These centers 
include a large population at risk of acquiring or 
transmitting HIV.  Currently, there are 114 rehabilitation 
centers in the country (84 of which are state-owned), with 
more under construction.  The total number of residents in 
05/06 centers nationwide is nearly 60,000, with approximately 
28,000 residing in the eighteen 05/06 centers in the Ho Chi 
Minh City area alone.  Overall, an estimated 50 percent of 
residents in the rehabilitation centers in Ho Chi Minh City 
are HIV-infected, with the prevalence ranging from 20 to 70 
percent in a given center.  HIV prevalence among residents of 
centers in Haiphong is 80 percent.  An estimated one quarter 
of all living HIV cases are currently housed in the 
rehabilitation centers, with very limited health care or drug 
availability. 
 
Healthcare Infrastructure and Support 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶20.  (U)  Operated by the Ministry of Health, the nation's 
health care system is vertical, originating in the Central 
Government and extending down through the provincial, 
district and commune levels.  Since 1988, the government has 
allowed private medical practice that has contributed to 
increasing access to health care services and choice in 
providers. The majority of general health care is 
administered at the provincial level.  However, most 
provincial AIDS committees lack an adequate number of trained 
staff in public and allied health professions.  A separate 
health care system exists within the Ministry of Defense 
(MOD) for active military, their families, and retirees and, 
in many cases, civilians who for various reasons do not have 
access to the MOH facilities. This system has its own medical 
school and training.  In addition, with one or two exceptions 
where MOH provides services, MOLISA operates a separate 
healthcare system for residents of the 05/06 Rehabilitation 
Centers. 
 
Key Challenges 
-------------- 
 
¶21.  (U)  Vietnam has a comparatively strong general public 
health infrastructure and a leadership that is increasingly 
engaged in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  However, many 
challenges remain.  These include the shortage of a health 
care workforce trained in HIV diagnosis, treatment and care, 
the continued stigma and discrimination against people with 
or affected by HIV/AIDS and inadequate coordinated leadership 
across agencies and ministries.  Along with strengthening 
continued prevention efforts, Vietnam must also address the 
growing need and demand for HIV treatment through 
antiretroviral therapy. 
 
Shortage of ARV Availability 
---------------------------- 
 
¶22.  (U)  Access to antiretroviral therapy and treatment of 
opportunistic infections can dramatically reduce morbidity 
and mortality in Vietnam.  In early 2004, a WHO task force 
visited Vietnam to assess the nation's viability to enter the 
WHO 3 by 5 Program (three million people on ARV treatment by 
2005). The WHO team estimated that in January 2004, less than 
100 people had access to ARV treatments.  Many barriers 
contribute to the lack of widespread availability of ARV in 
Vietnam: the high cost of the drugs produced or purchased in 
Vietnam and imported from abroad; limited coordination within 
the MOH and with others sectors; limited coordination of 
partners for care and treatment (including ARV procurement); 
the high level of stigma and discrimination, particularly 
within the health care system; and an absence of human 
resources development and training plans. 
 
Insufficient Clinical Care and Management 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶23.  (U)  There is an absence of policies and programs that 
include training for health care workers and persons infected 
and affected by HIV.  Also lacking are affordable quality 
care and clinical management with the full range of treatment 
options from the provincial level to ward level; low numbers 
of clinically qualified staff and poor remuneration and 
incentives for staff motivation; and understaffed health 
management units. 
 
¶24.  (U) The number of health care providers in Vietnam 
trained in basic diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS totals 
about 350-400 professionals trained by USG, USG partners, and 
other international NGOs.  However, far fewer physicians have 
been trained to provide anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy and 
they practice primarily in four provinces: Hanoi, HCMC, Quang 
Ninh and Hai Phong.  Each province has an AIDS Division, but 
few full-time specialized workers in AIDS prevention.  Health 
care provision in the military, 05/06 Centers and the public 
health sector are also overseen by different Ministries. 
Consistency in service provision is necessary if there is to 
be an effective response. 
 
Persistent Stigma and Discrimination 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶25. (U) Although there has been important progress, stigma 
and discrimination about HIV still exist in society, and in 
the key areas of employment, education and health services. 
Relatively low HIV prevalence and ten years of public 
campaigns associating HIV/AIDS with drug use, crime and sex 
work have led to powerful stigma and discrimination, 
including in the healthcare sector; efforts to improve the 
legal framework for rights-based advocacy of PLWHA will prove 
fruitful only if those rights are enforced. Until recently, 
government policy defined HIV/AIDS as a social evil.  The GVN 
stance has recently changed and leaders have gradually begun 
to address social perceptions of persons with or affected by 
HIV/AIDS, and the Prime Minister's recent instructions have 
officially defined the change in policy. 
 
Weak Coordinated Leadership 
--------------------------- 
 
¶26.  (U)  A lack of management and administrative systems 
training among the nation's healthcare leadership in the MOH 
and at all levels may hinder the quick dispersal and 
utilization of funds.  Frequent reorganization of ministries 
and a strict, hierarchical leadership structure are likely to 
inhibit the ability of government officials to lead decision- 
making and policy formulation initiatives.   While the Prime 
Minister has recently acknowledged that an effective HIV 
response requires active leadership across all ministries and 
agencies, the National Committee for AIDS, Drug and 
Prostitution Prevention and Control, which has national 
coordinating authority, has not demonstrated much public 
leadership.  Interministerial cooperation and coordination 
was further diminished by the GVN's decision to dismantle the 
independent National AIDS Standing Bureau and subsume overall 
responsibility for all HIV/AIDS programs and coordination 
under the Department of Preventive Medicine and AIDS Control 
of the AIDS Division within MOH. 
 
Rehabilitation Center Concern 
----------------------------- 
 
¶27.  (U)  A significant proportion of HIV-infected persons 
and most at risk populations are currently in rehabilitation 
centers.  Strategies to ensure access to treatment and 
continuing treatment regimens both for those transitioning 
from centers and those sent into centers must be addressed in 
the community.  The GVN is concerned with the high rate of 
infectious diseases among HIV-infected persons in the centers 
and has raised the need for increased training and investment 
in and improved awareness and understanding about HIV 
prevention and intervention for local leaders and for center 
staff.  (Ref A and B) 
 
Foreign Assistance 
------------------ 
 
¶28.  (U)  As with any developing nation, Vietnam has limited 
financial resources committed to HIV/AIDS activities and thus 
depends heavily on international support. The GVN committed 
nearly $6 million USD to HIV/AIDS in 2004; direct 
international support currently totals several times that 
amount. 
 
¶29.  (U)  To date, USG programs (including USAID, CDC, 
Department of Labor and Department of Defense) have provided 
technical and financial support to Vietnam to develop HIV 
prevention, treatment, and care programs in 33 provinces 
throughout Vietnam - with particular focus in 6 provinces 
(Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Ha Noi, HCM City, An Giang and Can 
Tho).  Based on the nature of the epidemic in Vietnam, USG 
interventions target the most at risk populations in the 
country, and simultaneously build a network of care and 
treatment services for those who are infected.  U.S. 
assistance for HIV/AIDS activities in Vietnam totaled 
approximately USD 18 million in 2004 and will be 
approximately USD 25 million in 2005.  In addition to this 
direct assistance, the United States is also a significant 
contributor to the Global Fund, which has provided Vietnam 
with further funding support. 
 
¶30.  (U)  Other large bilateral donors or NGOs providing HIV 
assistance include Great Britain (DFID), WHO, World Bank, the 
Ford Foundation, Australia (AusAID), Canada, and Germany 
(Kfw), and soon also the Asian Development Bank.  The United 
Nations HIV Theme Group is under the leadership of the UNDP 
representative.  In addition, there is an active effort to 
coordinate strategy and activities among organizations 
through the UNAIDS coordinator.  International support 
outside of U.S. assistance totaled about USD 30 million in 
2004 and will increase substantially in 2005. 
 
USG HIV/AIDS Activities 
----------------------- 
 
¶31.  (U)  USAID began funding HIV/AIDS activities in Vietnam 
in 1999.  In 2002, USAID developed a framework to support the 
national HIV/AIDS program from 2003-2008, with the main 
objectives to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS and to mitigate 
the impact on those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.  Three 
intermediate results underpin the USAID framework: increased 
national capacity to respond effectively to the HIV/AIDS 
epidemic, improved prevention of HIV and other sexually 
transmitted infection, and implementation of appropriate care 
and support strategies to mitigate the impact of the HIV 
epidemic. 
 
¶32.  (U)  In October 2001, a formal cooperative agreement 
between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
and the Vietnam MOH initiated Global AIDS Program (GAP) 
activities was signed for HIV prevention and control 
activities and capacity building in 40 provinces and ten 
national institutes. To manage these activities, the GVN 
developed a new government coordinating office, the LIFE-GAP 
Project Office, overseen by a 12-member Steering Board under 
the direction of a Vice Minister of Health. 
 
¶33.  (U)  USG has also supported HIV prevention initiatives 
in the workplace through SMARTWork (Strategically Managing 
AIDS Responses Together) Vietnam, a joint initiative of the 
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Ministry of Labor, 
Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam (MOLISA).  Launched in 
January 2003, SMARTWork fosters workplace HIV prevention 
education and policies to prevent discrimination in the 
workplace against employees affected by HIV/AIDS. 
 
¶34.  (U) The U.S. Department of Defense, through the U.S. 
Pacific Command (PACOM), has funded HIV/AIDS training courses 
at its Regional Training Center (RTC) in Bangkok, Thailand 
since September 2004.  Vietnamese military medical providers 
have attended RTC courses on HIV/AIDS prevention, laboratory 
diagnosis, counseling and policy development.  Finally PACOM 
has begun renovating laboratory facilities at the Military 
Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. 
 
The Emergency Plan 
------------------ 
¶35.  (U)  In June 2004, Vietnam was selected as the fifteenth 
focus country under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS 
Relief (Emergency Plan).  This selection injected 
considerable additional funding to consolidate and expand 
upon U.S. agency supported HIV/AIDS prevention and care 
activities as well as to initiate treatment programs. 
Together, these programs target the most at-risk populations 
and will be integrated and coordinated both across USG 
agencies and with Vietnam's National Strategy and other 
international organizations.  Prevention programs will 
include community outreach, behavior change communication and 
prevention interventions with HIV-infected people.  In 
addition, support will be provided for certain general 
population prevention activities in focus provinces, 
including prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), 
blood safety and safe injection, and messages on abstinence, 
delay of sexual debut and being faithful to one partner.  In 
the area of treatment, USG support will include safe and 
effective antiretroviral drugs for adults and children, 
laboratory equipment and tests related to HIV treatment, and 
the development of drug procurement, management and drug 
distribution systems.  Care activities include a broad 
spectrum of activities involving HIV-infected persons such as 
HIV counseling and testing, palliative clinical and community- 
based care, provision of drugs to prevent or treat 
opportunistic infections and certain treatment interventions 
for injection drug users. 
 
¶36.  (U) USG HIV/AIDS activities under the Emergency Plan are 
intended to synchronize with the GVN's National Strategy and 
Action Plan areas. The Emergency Plan further aims to 
cultivate strong local leadership and sustainable activities 
through diverse partnerships with the GVN across multiple 
ministries and agencies, mass organizations like the Vietnam 
Women's Union and the Vietnam Youth Union, faith-based 
organizations, local non-governmental organizations and 
community-based organizations.  The USG strategy also 
emphasizes close coordination with other donors and 
international organizations to achieve the most efficient and 
comprehensive mechanisms to meet current needs and 
challenges. 
 
Other External Assistance 
------------------------- 
 
¶37.  (U)  There are roughly 30 international non-governmental 
organizations (INGOs), over five government-sanctioned 
technical local non-governmental organizations (LNGOs), seven 
UN organizations, five major bilateral agencies and the 
Global Fund concentrating resources on HIV/AIDS programs in 
Vietnam.  International organizations include faith-based 
(e.g. World Vision, ADRA), general development (e.g. CARE, 
FHI), and specialized consulting firms (e.g. Abt. 
Associates). Local non-government organizations include 
specialized research organizations, program design and 
implementation organizations, and community-based 
organizations. The Government of Vietnam won awards on Rounds 
I, II and III for the Global Fund, with Round I including $12 
million for HIV/AIDS programs.  The principal recipient is 
the MOH, and to date, roughly $2.5 million have been 
disbursed to the MOH.  Global Fund support will go to 
prevention, care and treatment programs directed by the MOH 
in 20 provinces. 
 
¶38.  (SBU) Comment:  Vietnam has a unique opportunity to 
mount an effective response to its growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. 
In the last year, the approval of the National AIDS Strategy 
and the Prime Minister's declaration of HIV/AIDS as a top 
priority for the GVN have been important steps forward in the 
fight against HIV/AIDS.  Among the key challenges and 
opportunities Vietnam now faces in its national HIV response 
are: the lack of sufficient human resources to implement the 
National AIDS Program; the limited antiretroviral treatment 
currently available to AIDS patients; and the participation 
of and consensus among different ministries and sectors. 
Coordinated inter-ministerial leadership will ensure that 
prevention measures mobilize all relevant sectors and 
organizations, and that strategy and resources for care and 
treatment are coordinated and managed efficiently and 
effectively. It is also essential for the implementation of 
and coordination among the many activities and programs 
supported by international assistance.  Consistent public 
messages and supporting legal reform will also be necessary 
to eliminate enduring stigma and discrimination against 
PLWHA.  End of comment. 
 
MARINE