More than 1,100 drug addicts are receiving Methadone treatment.

(Baonghean.vn) - On August 10, the Provincial People's Committee held a conference to review Methadone treatment work 2012-2016 and to discuss the program towards the 90-90-90 target on HIV/AIDS prevention and control.

Attending the event were representatives of the Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control - Ministry of Health, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Family Health International (FHI 360), and the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Support Project in Vietnam. On the Nghe An province side, there was comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

Conference Overview.

As of July 31, 2016, the province has put into operation 12 Methadone treatment facilities, creating conditions for 2,145 drug addicts to register for treatment. Of these, 1,901 patients have been treated, and 1,139 are currently being treated.

In general, the results of Methadone treatment brought about positive changes such as: the rate of patients with illegal behavior, family misconduct and HIV risk behavior decreased significantly, the rate of patients finding jobs increased...

Patients take medicine at Methadone treatment facility of Tuong Duong District General Hospital.

However, currently, funding from programs and projects for Methadone treatment has decreased sharply; access to services in many localities is still difficult; the number of patients dropping out of treatment is still high….

Regarding the implementation of the 90-90-90 target on HIV/AIDS prevention and control, by the end of June 2016, Nghe An had 8,342 people infected with HIV, of which 5,074 were still alive and being managed. Currently, 21/21 districts, cities, towns and 440/480 communes and wards have people infected with HIV. Regarding the results of implementing the 90-90-90 targets, Nghe An currently has 78% of infected people knowing their infection status, 58% of infected people receiving ARV treatment; 48% have viral load below the transmission threshold.

In the last 6 months of 2016, Nghe An continued to maintain 12 Methadone treatment facilities that had been deployed, striving to treat 2,000 patients by the end of the year; opened 16 more Methadone dispensing points; opened 4 new HIV testing rooms at the district level; expanded the ARV treatment drug dispensing model at communes and wards; and recalculated the targets to achieve the 90-90-90 target in accordance with the practical situation of the province.

Minh Quan