People at high risk of contracting HIV provided with PrEP

A conference is held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 29 to review the implementation of a trial project on PrEP. (Photo: VNA)

The information was released at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 29 to review the implementation of a trial project on PrEP after one year.

The project was jointly implemented by the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organisation.

Mei Mei Peng, a representative of USAID, said the project has been carried out in Vietnam since March 2017, with the focus on high-risk groups, including men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women and partners of HIV-infected people.

The drug has been provided in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City through public clinics, private healthcare centres and community organizations.

In 2015, WHO recommended using PrEP as part of a comprehensive HIV preventive strategy for high-risk people.

VAAC Director Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Loang stressed that together with antiretroviral treatment for HIV people, PrEP is expected to help Vietnam eliminate the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2030.

With this result, Vietnam will expand the provision of PrEP, firstly in 11 provinces and cities with the aim of providing PrEP for 5,610 people at high risk by 2019 and about 7,300 people by 2020, Long said./.

VNA