DEPUTY GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR VISITS HANOI

UNCLAS HANOI 000439

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR S/GAC - MANI
DEPT PASS TO OGHA OFFICE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KHIV EAID SOCI PGOV PREL VM
SUBJECT: DEPUTY GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR VISITS HANOI

REF: HO CHI MINH CITY 00132


1. (U) Summary: From January 26-31, 2005, Dr. Joseph
O'Neill, Deputy Coordinator and Chief Medical Officer in the
Office of Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) visited Vietnam to
become better acquainted with the HIV/AIDS situation and
with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(Emergency Plan) program. He met with key partners from the
Government of Vietnam (GVN),local and international NGOs
and multilateral partners in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
(reftel). Dr. O'Neill reviewed recent developments in the
Emergency Fund both in Vietnam and more broadly, and
stressed that GVN needs to coordinate effectively across
ministries. Acknowledging this, his interlocutors described
the problems they face and called for more meetings at the
technical level. End Summary.


2. (U) Deputy Coordinator and Chief Medical Officer in the
Office of Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) Dr. Joseph O'Neill
visited Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City January 26-31, to assess
the HIV/AIDS situation in Vietnam and the President's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan) program in
country.


3. (SBU) Dr. O'Neill met with Vice Minister of Health (MOH)
Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuyen and representatives of the various
Departments focusing on HIV/AIDS and MOH's Department of
International Cooperation on January 26. He stressed that
the Emergency Plan was created to bring all the talents of
the existing USG HIV/AIDS activities under a unified program
because prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS is
complex and multifaceted. He went on to explain that the
Emergency Plan would add funds to existing and new programs
to provide treatment with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and to
add programs for orphans and vulnerable populations, among
others. He also announced that the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) had given a pharmaceutical manufacturer
in South Africa conditional approval to produce
antiretroviral drugs. This FDA approval process was
developed to ensure that people of the world with HIV/AIDS
would have the assurance of safe and effective
antiretroviral drugs. Vice Minister Xuyen welcomed this
development and noted that the MOH was coordinating the
Emergency Plan activities to meet the objectives of
Vietnam's National Strategy on HIV/AIDs Prevention and
Control. Noting that the Emergency Plan was challenging
since it required close collaboration with many different
Vietnamese government offices, he requested more meetings
with the Emergency Plan Country Team at the technical level.


4. (U) In meetings and site visits with non-GVN Emergency
Plan partners, Dr. O'Neill announced that OGAC had approved
all activities proposed in the FY05 Vietnam Country
Operational Plan and the approval of the Five-Year USG
Strategy for Combating HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. Although
Congressional Notification was pending, funds were expected
to arrive in Vietnam by the end of February 2005. Among the
issues that Emergency Plan partners brought to Dr. O'Neill's
attention included: the use of generic versus branded ARVs;
the lack of information on resistance to ARVs in Vietnam;
the importance of sustainability and dissemination of
success; linkage of treatment, care and prevention programs;
and the need to push the HIV/AIDS agenda to the highest
level of the national leadership and down to the grass
roots. Emergency Plan partners also requested greater
coordination among donors and agreement to view substance
abuse as a force driving the HIV/AIDs epidemic in Vietnam.


5. (U) In a meeting with officials from MOH, the Ministry of
National Defense (MND) and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids
and Social Affairs (MOLISA),Dr. O'Neill emphasized that
close collaboration and coordination among various GVN
Ministries working on HIV/AIDs programs was essential for
the success of the Emergency Plan in Vietnam. MND's Sr.
Colonel Nguyen Tho Lo explained that MND provides prevention
programs and medical care to more than 400,000 members of
the Vietnamese military and to an unknown number of
civilians. He expressed satisfaction with working with the
U.S. Department of Defense in combating HIV/AIDs and his
willingness to continue working on future Emergency Plan
activities. MOLISA's Le Van Nha said that his Ministry is
responsible for running "05" rehabilitation centers for
female sex workers and "06" rehabilitation centers
intravenous drug users, as well directing occupational
health programs. He went on to express interest in
beginning methadone treatment in rehabilitation centers, but
noted that health centers in Vietnam are generally in poor

condition and ill-equipped. Nha said that Vietnam has been
operating rehabilitation centers for about 10 years, but
added that these centers only treat about 35 percent of the
drug using population and added that center staff training
on HIV/AIDS is inadequate.

MARINE


NNNN