UNAIDS Vietnam called on Vietnam to invest wisely in its HIV response toensure that it would achieve national and global targets on theoccasion of the 25th World AIDS Day, which took place on December 1.

" Vietnam has made great progress against HIV. But bigchallenges remain. It is critical for Vietnam to focus preciousnational resources on three things: the right people, the right placesand scaling up the most effective interventions," said Dr. KristanSchoultz, Country Director of UNAIDS Vietnam.

"Theright people are key populations at higher risk of infection: people whoinject drugs and their sexual partners, people who buy and sell sex andmen who have sex with men. We need to reach out to these populations inhigh-burdened areas of the country with interventions that make thebiggest difference: condoms, sterile injecting equipment, HIV testingand antiretroviral treatment," said Schoultz.

Vietnam has made significant strides in scaling up HIV treatment andreducing the rate of new HIV infections; as a result, the epidemicappears to be stabilising. However, high levels of HIV persist among keypopulations.

In some cities, more than half of menwho inject drugs were living with HIV by the end of 2012. The nationalrate for men having HIV among those who inject drugs was estimated at 11percent. National HIV prevalence among female sex workers was 2.7percent. Current evidence also indicates that HIV prevalence isincreasing among men who have sex with men, a population that willaccount for an increasing proportion of future HIV infections.

The epidemic was still prevalent in mountainous and remote areas, saidDeputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and people living with HIV/AIDScontinued to face significant discrimination - making it harder forthem to access health services.

Decreasing support, both technical and financial, also presented an obstacle, Phuc added.

As donor funding for HIV response declines, the United Nations wasencouraging the country to expand initiatives that focus on earlierdiagnosis and getting people on treatment as soon as possible in orderto maximise the returns and impact of national investment.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also called on Vietnam to makegreater efforts to improve access to prevention, treatment, care andsupport services for key populations. This could be achieved throughstrengthening the partnership between the Ministry of Health andcommunities, promoting more proactive, simplified HIV testing andcounseling strategies and maximising the treatment and preventionbenefits of antiretroviral treatment.

"HIV responsein Vietnam is at a pivotal juncture. The scaling-up of innovativeapproaches is required to maintain momentum and build upon pastachievements," said WHO Representative in Vietnam Dr. Takeshi Kasai.

"We now know that HIV treatment can prevent transmission of HIV. Byfurther supporting early access to HIV diagnosis and treatment, Vietnamwill be able to reduce new HIV infections and deaths caused by AIDS,"added Kasai.

Deputy Prime Minister Phuc said theGovernment had approved a project to ensure funding for HIV/AIDS controland prevention activities for the 2013-2020 period.

A meeting with the theme "Towards no more new HIV infected people" wasorganised by the Vietnam Red Cross Society in collaboration with theVietnam Youth Network on HIV/AIDS Prevention in Hanoi on November 30.Free consulting and HIV testing services were available alongside artand cultural performances and information aiming at preventing thedisease and eliminating the stigma associated with it.-VNA