Vietnam launches nationwide HIV/Aids initiative
Source: 11-OCT-2008 Intellasia | Medical News Today
Oct 11, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM Vietnam on Monday announced the launch of a nationwide initiative, called "Every Citizen is Involved in HIV/Aids Control and Prevention Activities at Community Level," to curb the spread of the disease in the country, the Vietnam News Agency reports.

(AFP Photo)

The programme will be implemented by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnamese Fatherland Front Control Committee and will run through 2012. Health minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu said the initiative's goals are to raise awareness of prevention and control methods. He added that the programme aims to encourage and create opportunities for families with HIV-positive members, commercial sex workers and injection drug users to become involved in prevention and control activities. Nguyen Thanh Long, head of the Department of HIV/Aids Control at the health ministry, said that many people in remote, rural areas of Vietnam are unaware of HIV prevention methods