LookAtVietnam – Bui Duc Duy, a 41-year-old man who is HIV positive and is being rehabilitated at the Hai Phong City’s Social Rehabilitation Centre,

Children are tested for HIV at the Hai Duong HIV Prevention Centre in the northern province of Hai Duong. Of the 5,000 HIV/AIDS patients in the province, 120 are under 16.

“Everyday, they give her some rice and vegetables to eat in her cottage,” said Duy. “She has no friends and no chance to go to school. Her only friend is a cat which I gave her before I came to this rehab centre,” said Duy.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently approved the National Plan of Action for Children Affected by HIV and AIDS until 2010, which aims to address problems faced by children like Nam.

Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said child AIDS victims were the ones that suffered most, as they were the most vulnerable to discrimination and their rights were limited.

“However, with this plan, the HIV-affected children will get better care and more help to integrate into society without any stigma,” said Ngan.

She made the statement yesterday at a conference to promote the plan. Ngan said HIV-affected children suffered not only from the pain in their body but also the pain in their hearts and spirits. They also had to struggle on when their parents died from HIV/AIDS, often while being discriminated against by their own neighbours and relatives.

There are more than 280,000 children in Viet Nam who live with one or more HIV-positive relatives, according to statistics from MoLISA. The parents of about 140,000 children have died due to AIDS infection.

Ngan said the plan’s strength was that it drew on and co-ordinated the efforts of the three ministries who work on behalf of children (the ministries of Health, Education and Training, and Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs) to ensure a comprehensive and unified response.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien said the plan’s main objectives included increasing accessibility to health care and education services and social policies for children affected by AIDS, ensuring that services specifically required by children affected by AIDS were available, of good quality and child-oriented. The plan also aimed to improve mechanisms for providing information, education, care, treatment and counselling for children affected by AIDS, creating an enabling social environment for the protection and care of children affected by AIDS and improving systems for supervision, monitoring and evaluation of the situation of these children.

Specifically, by the next year, the plan aimed to have at least 50 per cent of children affected by AIDS accessing health care services, 30 per cent of them receiving socio-psychological support services and 50 per cent receiving education services without any stigma or discrimination. It also aimed to provide ARV treatment to all children under six years of age infected by HIV/AIDS, Hien said.

Ngan said that under the plan, the ministries committed to reviewing and revising current policies to ensure that clear guidance on health care, education and social grants for children affected by AIDS and their caregivers are in place.

Deputy director of the Child Care and Protection Department Nguyen Trong An said that child-centred psychological care would be made available to children affected by AIDS. Neglected children in need of alternative care would be provided with temporary, small-scale community-based housing options and families would be offered support to improve care for children so that these families can remain united.

However, many officials working on this issue admit that raising awareness on AIDS among the wider community is also crucial in ending discrimination.

Ngan said that improving people’s knowledge was very important, so ministries and their sub-agencies must ensure stigma reduction training for their own staff and disseminate educational materials on HIV transmission and prevention.

Deputy minister Hien said that taking HIV-affected children to school was a priority as this was the most effective way to help them integrate into society.

AIDS victim Duy said that his daughter would benefit greatly from the plan, as it would ensure she receives adequate health tests, treatment and care.

“My daughter wants to go to school but she has never had the chance to go to kindergartens, not to mention primary school,” he said.

“If people can change their views, my daughter’s life can be changed for the better. She does not harm anybody, so there is no reason for her not to be accepted like others.”

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News