VietNamNet Bridge – All schools nation-wide have been given targets to enroll children affected by HIV/AIDS by 2020.

The plan also aims to cover 90 per cent of the children affected by HIV/AIDS, enabling them to access health care, education, consultation, physical development and entertainment services by 2020. — File Photo

It was one of the aims under the National Action Plan for Children Affected by HIV 2014-20, signed recently by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

The plan also aims to cover 90 per cent of the children affected by HIV/AIDS, enabling them to access health care, education, consultation, physical development and entertainment services by 2020, Dam said.

Ninety per cent of the centres or social organizations treating and taking care of HIV/AIDS affected children will be equipped with adequate knowledge and skills by 2020, he said.

Specific ways were outlined to implement the plan including strengthening the role of authorities, boosting international co-operation, perfecting the legal system and coming up with a pilot model to take care of HIV/AIDS affected children in the community, he added.

The plan would be funded from the State budget while some resources would be mobilized from elsewhere, he said.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs (MoLISA) was assigned to take responsibility to operate and monitor the plan's implementation nation-wide, and then send annual reports to the Prime Minister, he said.

At the same time, the Ministry of Health was appointed to direct the health centres to provide a basic package of health care services to HIV/AIDS affected children, he said.

The ministry was ordered to improve the medical staff's skills to enable them to take better care of the children, he said.

The Ministry of Education and Training was required to kick off activities to prevent discrimination against HIV/AIDS affected children in schools.

The MoLISA findings showed that the country had over 450,000 children affected by HIV/AIDS.

In a related move, it was estimated that over 3,100 children affected by HIV/AIDS in eight provinces, received benefits from a piloted care service model for the children undertaken by MoLISA since 2012.

Source: VNS