The U.S. Government and Vietnam have opened two new clinics in Hanoi showcasing American support for Vietnam’s efforts to address HIV/AIDS.

In the run-up to World AIDS Day on December 1 that marks 20 years of national commitment to address HIV/AIDS in Vietnam, U.S. Ambassador Michael Michalak and Hanoi’s Department of Health Director, Le Anh Tuan, opened a methadone clinic for heroin drug users in the city’s Son Tay District.

This is the third methadone clinic the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has supported in Hanoi and the 13th supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Vietnam.

The clinic will complement the other HIV-related services which are now available in Son Tay. These services help reduce the transmission of HIV and improve the health status and quality of life of drug users.

PEPFAR supports methadone maintenance therapy in Vietnam in order to reduce HIV and other related diseases among drug users, reduce drug dependence, and support drug users’ reintegration into the community.

Heroin drug users in Son Tay district and surrounding areas can now have access to free, effective, evidence-based treatment. This is complemented by counseling, social support and referral to other health services including accessing anti-retroviral therapy.

“We look forward to collaborating with a range of Vietnamese government authorities from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the Ministry of Public Security as Vietnam strengthens its capacity in the coming months and years to assume an increasing portion of methadone treatment and a range of other HIV-related health programs with its own human and financial resources,” Ambassador Michalak said.

USAID’s Acting Mission Director Michael Foster and Vietnamese officials November 30 cut a ribbon formally opening the doors of an HIV outpatient clinic in Hanoi’s Soc Son District.Â

This facility will provide people living with HIV in Soc Son and surrounding districts with high-quality clinical care, support, and treatment services for 400 patients in its first year. It will also offer voluntary counseling and testing and prevention counseling for 750 individuals over the next 12 months. It will also provide services to people staying in a state-run drug rehabilitation center nearby.

Source: SGGP