HIV/AIDS prevention model for border provinces
Ha Noi, Feb. 20 (VNA) -- A prevention model titled "Community Action to Fight HIV/AIDS" will be deployed in five provinces along the border with Cambodia and Laos between June 2001-June 2002.
They are northern Lai Chau province, central Quang Tri province and the southern provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap and Kien Giang. All are designated "hot spots" with high rates of HIV/AIDS carriers.
Viet Nam now has about 200,000 people afflicted with HIV/AIDS, mostly drug addicts and prostitutes, and their numbers along the Viet Nam-Laos-Cambodia border - where migrants and traders gather - have risen quickly.
A seminar to discuss the model has been held in Ho Chi Minh City by the National Committee for Population and Family Planning. It was attended by medical experts from the Health Ministry, the five provinces and representatives from the Asia Development Bank, ADB, and the World Health Organisation, WHO.
The model will be funded with USD 4 million from the Fund for Hunger Alimination and Poverty Eradication, the Japanese Government and loans from the ADB.--VNA
