Clinton Foundation, Vietnamese Government Agree To Collaborate on HIV/AIDS Treatment, Prevention

The Clinton Foundation and Vietnam's government on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to provide support for increasing access to HIV/AIDS care, treatment and prevention programs, the Vietnam News Brief Service reports (Vietnam News Brief Service, 12/13). The Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative will assist Vietnam's Association of HIV/AIDS Control in implementing the country's national strategy to fight the epidemic, which includes scaling up access to antiretroviral drugs and providing HIV/AIDS training to doctors, nurses and health care workers (Clinton Foundation release, 12/13). The MOU is expected to reduce the cost of antiretroviral treatment from about $500 to $1,200 annually per patient to about $140 annually per patient by allowing Vietnam to buy less-expensive drugs through the foundation, Thanh Nien News reports (Lien, Thanh Nien News, 12/13). HIV-positive children will receive antiretroviral medication at no cost (Vietnam News Brief Service, 12/13). The Clinton Foundation said it will work with organizations such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, UNAIDS and the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to provide care for HIV-positive people in Vietnam (Clinton Foundation release, 12/13). As of Nov. 19, Vietnam had recorded 103,100 HIV cases, about 17,100 AIDS cases and about 9,900 AIDS-related deaths, according to the government's General Statistics Office (Vietnam News Brief Service, 12/13). The World Health Organization estimates that between 12,000 and 14,000 HIV-positive people in the country need antiretrovirals, and the Ministry of Health hopes the new Clinton Foundation partnership will provide access to the drugs for most of them (Le, VietNamNet, 12/13).