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The Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) has been carried out for the first time in some parts of Quy Nhon city and two districts of Hoai Nhon and Vinh Thanh in the past two years, having positive effects on HIV/AIDS prevention.
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Many students in Quy Nhon city join the project.
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Mobile VCT
Binh Dinh is ranking 53th nationwide for the rate of HIV/AIDS-infected people. The HIV prevalence is seen on those who are drug addicts, prostitutes, fishermen, and pregnant women.
One of the potential causes affecting the HIV prevalence is the population fluctuation. Many people, for example, living in Binh Dinh now came from different places and local fishermen go to work nationwide.
The Ford Foundation-funded “Intervention for HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health education through Behavior Change Communication and VCT” project was implemented in Binh Dinh from May, 2009 to December, 2010.
The project focused on 15-29 year-old people living in Quy Nhon and communes of Vinh Hao, Vinh Kim, and Hoai Huong.
As a result, fishermen, ethnic minority people, students, workers, and high-risk groups benefited from the project. The mobile VCT and reproductive health care, built by Center for Community Health and Development and Binh Dinh HIV/AIDS prevention and control center, has been carried out for the first time in the community.
“The combination of mobile VCT’s services and reproductive health care not only ensures the availability of VCT’s services in disadvantaged areas but reduce the discrimination against HIV infected people,” said doctor Nguyen Thanh Truyen.
“Driving force”
Alongside services for reproductive health care and prevention for HIV/AIDS infection, the project also focused on the community-based communication activities.
Accordingly, young people were provided with the information about the risks of HIV infection, measures to prevent HIV/AIDS, and issues related to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Offshore fishermen are high-risk people who are easily infected with HIV/AIDS due to their job. Hoai Nhon district has seen 83 HIV/AIDS infected cases so far. Most of them are in the age of 18-30 and the transmission of HIV was mostly through unsafe sex. Among them, 10 are pregnant women and two are children.
“Recently, all HIV/AIDS infected cases were related to those who work far from home. Among 10 HIV infected couples, 5 are fishermen,” said Nguyen Tu Trong, an official of Hoai Nhon district’s health center. “The propagation with easy-to-understand contents, thus, will help raise their awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention.”
Thousands of young people benefited from the project, including 543 young people belonging to high-risk groups, according to doctor Truyen.
Most students and young people said it was the lack of knowledge and life skills that made them have unsafe sex. The communication activities attracted them to join the propagation, helping raise their awareness about HIV/AID prevention and control.
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