VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam needs VND7.6 trillion, or roughly US$365 million, for the treatment of HIV-positive people in the 2013-2020 period, but such an amount is difficult to mobilize given the tight State budget and international funding cuts.

This was informed by Duong Thuy Anh from the Vietnam Administration of HIV/AIDS Control at a workshop on the scheme for implementation of health insurance for HIV/AIDS treatment held in Hanoi last Friday.

From 2018 onwards, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will reduce direct support and switch to technical assistance for Vietnam. In other words, Vietnam will no longer receive antiretroviral drugs and medications to treat opportunistic infections from this program.

In addition, 2015 marks the end of the project of the Global Fund for providing HIV patients with free treatment, making it very hard to raise VND7.6 trillion.

Tong Thi Song Huong, director of the Health Insurance Department under the Ministry of Health, said mobilizing financial resources would be a major challenge for the HIV/AIDS control program in the coming time.

The HIV/AIDS control program is getting much support from international organizations, which covers 60-70% of the cost of the program. Up to 90% of antiretroviral drugs are provided by international donors.

Thus, the program will face an extreme financial distress as donors expect to cut aids because of limited resources globally.

To solve the financial shortage, health insurance is determined as one of the solutions, with a schedule to gradually boost the expenditure of the health insurance fund on HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities, focusing on diagnosis and treatment.

Source: SGT