Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime MinisterTruong Hoa Binh has asked localities to actively build and submit to authoritiesfor approval plans on HIV/AIDS prevention and control to 2030, as well as solutionsto ensure financing for the task.

Addressing a meeting held by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in response to World AIDS Day on December 1 and to look backon Vietnam’s achievements in fighting HIV/AIDSover the last 30 years, Binh said the health sector needs to bring into playall existing resources and promote the application of modern technologies.

Attention should be paid to expanding coverage and improving the quality of medicalexaminations and treatment, consultation, and testing for HIV, he stressed.

The sector was asked to focus on interconnections in medical examinations and treatment,towards creating the conditions necessary for people to access HIV preventive services,for high-risk groups to quickly access HIV testing services, and for thoseliving with HIV to have early access to antiretroviral(ARV) treatmentand health insurance.

He called on social organisations and communities to actively and strongly participatein HIV/AIDS prevention activities, especially the provision of HIV/AIDS preventionand control services to target groups.

Government agencies need to help the Governmentstudy and build favourable mechanisms for the involvement of social organisationsin fighting HIV/AIDS, Deputy PM Binh said.

He also called for more financial and technical assistance from foreign governmentsand international individuals and organisations for Vietnam’s efforts.

He took the occasion to praise ministries, sectors,localities, media, individuals, organisations, and the business community for theirefforts and contributions to the task.

Binh expressed his belief that Vietnam will achieve the goal of basically eliminating AIDS by 2030.

Vietnam is considered a bright spot in the world for HIV/AIDS prevention and control,and is one of four countries with the best HIV/AIDS treatment.

It is also one of the first countries in the worldto have a specific Law on HIV/AIDS.

International support resources have been usedeffectively for many years.

Reports from the MoH show that Vietnam has keptthe HIV infection rate in the community below 0.3percent, as targeted in the National Strategy on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control to 2020 with a Vision to 2030.

Regionally, Vietnam posted the largest decline in the number of new HIV infectionsin 2018 compared to 2010, of 64 percent.

The number of patients under treatment has increased rapidly over the years,with 159,984 HIV carriers undergoing treatment in 446 treatment facilities and 652 drug dispensing facilities as of September30, 2020. Seventy-six percent of them have access to an ARV therapy programme.

In the national strategy for ending AIDS by 2030, Vietnam targets bringingthe number of newly-detected infections to under 1,000 a year, while fatalitieslinked to HIV/AIDS are to be less than one per 100,000 people. HIV/AIDS will thenno longer be a public health concern.

On the occasion of WorldAIDS Day, Party and State leaders conferreda Labour Order upon outstanding individuals and collectives in recognition of theirsignificant contributions to fighting HIV/AIDS./.