Barriers to Ending AIDS

With efforts to comprehensively and effectively implement HIV/AIDS prevention and control solutions, early detection, infection prevention and treatment to protect patients' health have contributed to reducing the number of new infections and no deaths due to AIDS in the first months of this year. However, this work still has barriers to reaching the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic.

Medical staff advise pregnant women on voluntary HIV testing at Nga Bay City General Hospital.

Actively advise on voluntary HIV testing

Voluntary HIV testing counseling for pregnant women coming for prenatal check-ups and being hospitalized for childbirth is always actively carried out at the Obstetrics Clinic and Obstetrics Department, Nga Bay City General Hospital. Doctor Nguyen Viet Kich, Head of Obstetrics Department, said: "For pregnant women coming for regular prenatal check-ups at the clinic and pregnant women being hospitalized for childbirth, we always provide voluntary HIV testing counseling, pointing out the necessity and benefits of HIV testing to access early treatment and effectively prevent transmission to children if the result is positive - infected".

The current advantage is that the cost of HIV testing is covered by health insurance and the department performs the test at the same time as other tests, so most pregnant women agree. Ms. Nguyen Thi Mong Cam, from Soc Trang province, was admitted to give birth at Nga Bay City General Hospital, shared: “When I had a prenatal check-up in my locality, I was also advised to test for HIV, but I thought I was not sick so I did not test. Now that I am giving birth at Nga Bay City General Hospital, I am advised to see the benefits of HIV testing, even though I think I am not sick, I still agree to test. The doctors said that there are also cases where the test results are positive, so I agree to test to confirm that I am not sick, which gives me more peace of mind.”

Another advantage is that the Obstetrics Department has a team of medical staff trained in HIV/AIDS counseling and testing, so it is highly effective in promoting and advising pregnant women to have a high level of agreement to get tested, reaching an estimated 98% of the total number of pregnant women giving birth at the hospital.

Not only at Nga Bay City General Hospital, voluntary HIV testing counseling is regularly maintained at commune, district and provincial health facilities. Mr. Vo Chi Dai, Deputy Director of the Provincial Center for Disease Control, said: “In the first quarter, the sector counseled and tested over 1,600 people, including all at-risk groups such as young people, women, men who have sex with men (MSM), and drug addicts. As a result, there were 8 positive samples, a decrease of 5 patients compared to the same period in 2022 and 100% of treatment counseling was provided.”

However, there are still difficulties in voluntary HIV testing. A part of the population does not really have the right awareness of HIV/AIDS, in some groups of drug users, especially MSM (men who have sex with men) are getting younger. Therefore, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is still unpredictable and has high risk factors. On the other hand, currently the network of peer propagandists to implement the program no longer exists, only relying on population collaborators and commune, hamlet and regional health workers to participate in propaganda work, so the effectiveness is not as expected.

Nearly 1,000 patients are being treated.

The motto of implementing HIV/AIDS prevention work is that the provincial health network strives to support and create conditions for 100% of newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients to access treatment and management, care, and effective treatment to best protect the patient's health. In the province, there are 2 treatment facilities for HIV/AIDS patients at the Provincial Center for Disease Control and Nga Bay City Medical Center, helping patients to conveniently access treatment without having to travel too far. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Khiem, Head of the General Clinic, Nga Bay City Medical Center, said: “Here, we are managing and treating 323 HIV/AIDS patients. We manage, care for, consult, and provide regular medical examinations and medication. Most patients come to receive medication every month. In addition, a network of medical staff working on HIV/AIDS prevention and control covers all communes and wards to support the care and management of HIV/AIDS patients during the treatment process. Patients are provided with enough medication, however, there are difficulties due to the inability to perform some tests to periodically assess the patient's condition such as CD4 testing and viral load measurement, so doctors only rely on the patient's clinical manifestations to treat.”

The encouraging treatment results for HIV/AIDS patients in the first quarter were that there were no patients who developed AIDS or died from AIDS. The number of patients, care and treatment management at the two treatment facilities was 975 people. Mr. Vo Chi Dai, Deputy Director of the Provincial Center for Disease Control, affirmed: “We always ensure enough medicine for the patients under our management, reaching 99.3% receiving medicine according to the examination schedule. Some patients do not receive medicine on time, often working far away. This is also one of the difficulties in managing treatment for HIV/AIDS patients.”

According to health workers working in HIV/AIDS prevention and control, although there have been positive results in treatment, the national target program funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities has been cut, especially aid sources from projects that no longer exist, significantly affecting HIV/AIDS prevention and control. Funding for testing to support HIV/AIDS diagnosis and treatment, including CD4 testing and viral load measurement, has not had a project to support testing for infected people, and the signing of contracts at higher levels has not been agreed upon due to health insurance settlement. Stigma and discrimination have decreased but are still quite common in the community, causing difficulties in visiting and managing people infected with HIV/AIDS. These will be barriers to achieving the common goal of ending the AIDS epidemic in Vietnam before 2030.

Accumulated from 2004 to present, the province has recorded 1,947 cases of HIV infection, of which 1,048 cases have progressed to AIDS and 615 deaths due to AIDS. With the efforts of the health sector to increase testing, it has helped detect HIV patients early, reduce the source of infection, combined with treatment for patients to reduce progression to AIDS and deaths from this disease, and preventive treatment to reduce the risk of HIV infection. However, to make HIV/AIDS prevention and control more effective, it is necessary to pay attention to resolving the difficulties currently encountered.

Article and photos: HONG DIEM

Source link