VZCZCXRO7850
PP RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHHM #0665 1770521
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260521Z JUN 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2784
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 1990
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 2985

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000665 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID SOCI PGOV PHUM PINR PREL KHIV VM
SUBJECT: HCMC CONTINUES TO DELAY LEGALIZING CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE 
HIV/AIDS ACTIVITIES 
 
REF: 06 HCMC 972 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (SBU) On June 16, Pol and CDC met with a representative of 
Father John Dinh Toai, Director of the HCMC Archdiocese 
"Pastoral Care" program for people living with HIV/AIDS . He 
said that the biggest obstacle facing the church continues to be 
the unwillingness of local authorities to grant legal status to 
some site-specific activities.  For example, since July 2005, 
Pastoral Care has sponsored the Mai Tam Drop-In Center, which 
houses HIV-positive mothers and orphaned children.  Mai Tam does 
not have a license, yet has received tacit approval from the 
city government and Provincial AIDS Committee to operate.  It 
currently cares for 19 HIV-positive mothers and 32 orphans and 
HIV-positive children.  Mai Tam first applied for a license in 
September 2005 and its application was "finalized" in December 
¶2005.  However, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social 
Affairs (DOLISA) has delayed approving the application, 
reportedly over an internal disagreement of whether the approval 
should come from the district in which the center operates or 
from the city (provincial) government.  Father Toai said that 
the lack of a license for Mai Tam also has prevented Pastoral 
Care from opening additional community-based care centers. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Without a license, Mai Tam's residents are unable to 
obtain official documents, including birth certificates for 
orphans, which limits access to public services.  For example, 
most of the children from Mai Tam cannot attend school and seven 
orphans that do not have HIV cannot be offered for adoption 
without birth certificates and other documents.  On occasion, 
Mai Tam staff are questioned by local police, but the local 
authorities have ceased to threaten to close the facility. 
Father Toai also said that the Church has been waiting almost 
one year for permission to build a comprehensive HIV/AIDS 
hospice, treatment and training center on a 20-acre site it 
purchased in HCMC's Can Gio District.  The Church's plans call 
for a 40 bed hospice and 140-160 beds for patients receiving 
comprehensive treatment and training.  The Church would like to 
link the center with a small factory or enterprise on-site to 
provide job skills and employment opportunities for the 
patients.  Other legal status delays include a hospice proposal 
in Tan Phu District that currently operates from two houses. 
While the police had threatened closure of the hospices, there 
is now a truce since the HCMC Department of Health is 
considering certifying this operation -- the application has 
been pending for almost a year. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Another site that is in jeopardy due to GVN delays of 
systematizing procedures and operations is the DOLISA-run Nhan 
Ai Hospital in Binh Phuoc Province.  (Note:  Nhan Ai Hospital 
was formerly Trong Diem "06" (drug rehabilitation) center.  In 
September 2006 DOLISA converted this center into a 
hospital/hospice concept for 05/06 Center residents with 
end-stage HIV/AIDS.  End Note.)  However, due to issues ranging 
form from funding to meeting government approval for body 
disposal, Nhan Ai barely serves any patients - only seven are 
reported to be in a facility that can support over 100.  The 
Church currently provides 12 of Nhan Ai's 99 staff. These staff 
members began teaching children in neighboring villages how to 
read and write but were stopped by police reportedly because of 
concerns they would proselytize.  The Church would like to 
discontinue Nhan Ai support to redirect to higher need HIV/AIDS 
activities.  However, the Archdiocese fears government 
retaliation in its other existing activities.  As a result, it 
is keeping the twelve staff in place. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  In many meetings to date, HCMC provincial 
authorities, including a Vice-Chairman of the People's 
Committee, have told us that they appreciate and support the 
efforts of the Catholic Archdiocese to assist them in combating 
HIV/AIDS.  Up to a point, the authorities have been cooperative, 
allowing the church to undertake many HIV/AIDS initiatives as 
well as curbing sometimes hostile district police and local 
officials.  However, HCMC officials continue to drag their feet 
on formally legalizing the Church's operations in HCMC. 
However, with HCMC still lacking a comprehensive plan and 
approach for community-based care, the problem of managing 
people living with HIV/AIDS will continue to grow as more 
residents of drug rehabilitation centers, roughly half of whom 
are HIV-positive, are released into their communities.  In 
addition, without formal legal status, the well recognized and 
effective efforts by the Catholics will suffer from lack of 
public funding and coordination that leads to sustainability as 
well as enhance HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment.  End 
Comment. 
WINNICK