Asian Development Bank Grants Vietnam $20M for HIV/AIDS Campaign

The Asian Development Bank on Monday provided Vietnam with a $20 million grant to help fund a project aimed at controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people in the country, the AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 7/24). The $26.7 million project will use the mass media to inspire behavior change among Vietnamese youth (Luan, Saigon Times Daily, 7/25). The government will provide the remaining $6.7 million for the project, which will last until 2011. The project aims to increase condom use and knowledge about HIV/AIDS, as well as discourage risky behavior such as needle sharing among drug users, Ayumi Koinisi, the ADB country director said. The initiative also will support nongovernmental organizations in 15 provinces and focus on community-based advocacy, peer education, life skills training and increased access to harm-reduction services (Xinhua News Agency, 7/24). According to an ADB statement, young people ages 15 to 24 in 1994 in Vietnam accounted for about 10% of HIV-positive people, and that percentage has risen to 40% in recent years (Saigon Times Daily, 7/25). In related news, Vietnam last week signed a five-year agreement with the U.S. to foster cooperation on health issues, including HIV/AIDS. Vietnamese Minister of Health Tran Thi Trung Chien signed the agreement with HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt during a visit to the U.S. Under the agreement, the two countries will cooperate in exchanging information and technical expertise, developing rapid response plans for Vietnam, training workers, developing vaccines and managing pharmaceutical products (Thai News Service/TMCnet, 7/21).