Two PEPFAR-Funded Methadone Clinics Open in Vietnamese Port City
The United Nations mission in Vietnam recently announced that two new methadone clinics in the northern port city of Hai Phong, Vietnam, have opened to treat injection drug users and reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, AFP/Thanhnien News reports. According to the U.N. mission, the clinics will be able to serve about 700 IDUs this year (AFP/Thanhnien News, 4/29). According to the Vietnam News Agency, the clinics are funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Vietnam News Agency, 4/29).
Hai Phong is the fist location that the country's Ministry of Health has allowed use of methadone treatment, VietNamNet reports (VietNamNet, 4/29). Methadone clinics are scheduled to open next month in Ho Chi Minh City, which has the highest HIV prevalence among IDUs in the country, according to AFP/Thanhnien News. UNAIDS country chief Eamonn Murphy said the country has "effective harm reduction approaches" that "ensur[e] a comprehensive response to HIV." About 300,000 HIV-positive people are estimated to be living in the country (AFP/Thanhnien News, 4/29).
