Society

Heavy Pu Chong Cha

PV Group • November 5, 2025 15:30

Amid the mist of Pu Chong Cha mountain, the fight against HIV/AIDS has not stopped. In the midst of hardship, the people of the old Que Phong district are still steadfastly striving, pushing back the epidemic every day, healing wounds and lighting up the hope of revival...

Damage in the land of Que

The land of Que Phong district (old) including Thong Thu, Tien Phong, Que Phong, Muong Quang and Tri Le communes is considered one of the three hot spots of HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nghe An province (along with Vinh city and old Tuong Duong district). Since the first infection case was detected in 1999, by the end of 2024, this area has recorded 2,192 people infected with HIV/AIDS, of which 741 people have died, 1,453 people are carrying HIV virus, 981 people are receiving ARV treatment. Almost every village here has infected people.

In the past, the land of Que Phong district (old) was peaceful and prosperous. The forests had a lot of wood, the mountains had a lot of minerals, the rivers and streams had a lot of shrimp and fish. The ethnic people enjoyed the jars of rice wine at the festivals of the villages and hamlets, and the harvest festivals. Therefore, Que Phong district (old) had a central town named Kim Son (meaning Golden Mountain); there was a commune named Cam Muon (meaning Happy Gold)...

But then, in the early years of the 21st century, the disease of the century followed drugs and flooded into this land, destroying this land. Talking about the drug abuse and HIV/AIDS pandemic in Que Phong, no one knows more about it than LNV – Head of Sao Va Peer Group. Because he himself was once a “victim” who was both pitiful and blameworthy in this story.

Mr. LVV said: “In the early years of the 21st century, in Que Phong, drugs from across the border flooded in. Heroin was cheaper and easier than buying a bunch of vegetables. In 2002, I went to town to study high school, following my friends and getting involved in drugs. Seven of us injected ourselves with the same needle. By the time the sixth or seventh person got their turn, the needle was already thick with blood. I got infected with HIV from then on. In our generation, there was a family of three brothers, all three were infected.”

According to Mr. LNV, since 2004, the local Party Committee, government and police forces have made great efforts to fight, destroy drug networks, and arrest many drug criminals, then the "white death" has temporarily receded. Drug criminals retreated into the deep forests near the border, approaching illegal gold mines and illegal logging areas. Here, drug traffickers lured gold miners and timber miners by giving out free drugs. HIV/AIDS followed drugs to infiltrate remote villages.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Que Phong district (old) broke out for the second time in 2007-2009 when Hua Na Hydropower Plant was built. At the hydropower construction site, when night fell, the lights of cafes and karaoke bars disguised as prostitution lit up. Workers and prostitutes with little knowledge about the disease of the century and safe sex became the next victims of HIV/AIDS. And they themselves became the agents of infection for the community.

Mr. Sam Van Lan - HIV/AIDS prevention specialist, Que Phong Medical Center regretfully shared: During this period, many families were compensated with large sums of money by the Hydropower Plant for land. They did not use that money to develop the economy but instead indulged in entertainment. In the resettlement village, we met many families who knew nothing about HIV/AIDS or the harmful effects of drugs, but knew very well about the new types of motorbikes. There was no purified water to drink in the house, but it was full of boxes of bottled and canned beer that had been drunk and were about to be drunk.

In the years 2007-2009, every village had someone die from HIV/AIDS. The scene of mourning gradually became familiar. When the disease broke out, relatives did not take the infected person to medical facilities for testing and treatment but instead called in a shaman to perform a ritual to exorcise the “ghost” of the disease.

The "undercurrents" in remote villages

From 2010 up to now, with the strong participation of the Party Committee, the government, the health sector, and the support of international organizations and the activities of community groups, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Que Phong has gradually subsided. Many effective solutions have been implemented such as: Propaganda, counseling and testing; providing intervention services to reduce harm and prevent HIV transmission from mother to child; treating HIV/AIDS with ARV drugs for infected people; providing Methadone treatment for drug addicts... HIV/AIDS and drug prevention and control activities in the locality are associated with the movement "All people build a cultural life in residential areas".

Doctor Le Quang Trung - Deputy Director of Que Phong Medical Center said: From here, people in Que Phong gradually have knowledge about the disease; have awareness to prevent crime, social evils, and prevent HIV/AIDS. Patients gradually eliminate their inferiority complex and actively participate in treatment; actively participate in labor and production. The number of new infections has decreased year by year. In 2023, Que Phong detected 24 cases; in 2024, 20 cases were detected; in 2025, only 7 cases were detected.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Que Phong has decreased, but there are still “undercurrents” flowing in the villages. The most worrying “undercurrent” is the situation of ARV patients abandoning treatment. According to statistics from Que Phong Medical Center, out of 981 patients registered for ARV treatment, more than 100 people abandoned treatment or did not maintain regular ARV medication.

Through the investigation of the health sector: Most patients give up treatment because they work far away, lack money for travel. But hidden deep inside is the psychology of inferiority, concealment and sometimes fatigue. Meeting at Que Phong Health Center, Ms. LTH (in Tien Phong commune) brought her bags to the examination and received ARV drugs, bitterly telling her life story: "My husband died of AIDS, I left my child with my grandmother to go to Hanoi to earn a living. Every 1-2 months, I come back to get the drugs for treatment. Recently, I have not been able to come back to get the drugs on time because partly because of the difficulty of work; partly because I have just met and lived as husband and wife with another person. If I come back often, I am afraid he will know I have the disease."

It is known that in this Que Phong area, not only Ms. LT H but also many infected people, for the sake of making a living, have "drifted" to work far away and cannot return to their hometown to receive regular medication, so they gradually stop treatment... The medical center cannot know whether these patients have registered for ARV treatment at their new place of residence or not? - Patients who stop treatment or do not maintain regular medication intake will have a high viral load; it is very possible that these people will become a new source of infection.

In addition, there are also quite a few patients who are present in the locality but do not go to the medical center or health station to receive medicine. Mr. LVD (38 years old, in Thong Thu commune) lies in a dilapidated thatched house, exposing his dark skin and emaciated body, breathing heavily: "Now, my health is weak, I cannot go to receive medicine, I cannot do anything... I just live as long as I can."

The real reason for abandoning treatment is probably only known to the patient himself. However, the reality shows that the psychological inferiority complex and the signs of the disease are still heavy. Mr. LNV - Head of Sao Va Peer Group said: "Recently, we discovered a suspected infected person. However, when we went to his house to persuade him to get tested and proceed with treatment, this person avoided him and that same night took a bus to an industrial park in the northern provinces."

The new “underground wave” called homosexuality was revealed by the Sao Va Peer Group: “There are about 150 people in 5 communes in the Que Phong area in this group, of which 80 are public and at least 2 are infected with HIV”... According to the Sao Va Peer Group, besides homosexuality, there are other “underground waves” such as young people using crystal meth and having group sex without using safety measures.

"Healing" deep wounds

In Que Phong district (old) there is a high mountain range named Pu Chong Cha. This mountain range is associated with a sad legend - the story of a father carrying his son across a dangerous mountain slope, then lost each other forever. Pu Chong Cha divides Que Phong (old) into two, the East is Thong Thu, Tien Phong and Que Phong communes, the West is Muong Quang and Tri Le communes. Previously, HIV/AIDS was only concentrated in the Eastern communes. Now, HIV/AIDS is present on both sides of the mountain.

Doctor Le Quang Trung said: In previous years, the Mong villages in Tri Le commune did not have any HIV/AIDS patients. Now, HIV/AIDS has penetrated this community. Young people leave the mountains to work in industrial zones in the lowlands. They bring HIV/AIDS with them when they return to their villages. What is more dangerous is that they often feel self-conscious and hide their illness. When health workers come to their homes to talk about HIV/AIDS, they remain silent and wave their hands. Only when they ask the village elders and village chiefs to help them do they agree to get tested and treated.

Nearly 25 years have passed, Que Phong still cannot stop sighing. HIV/AIDS is now quieter but more difficult to control. Meanwhile, the work of prevention and control is still facing many difficulties: from the poor people; low level of education; heavy discrimination; limited budget; reduced funding sources to HIV/AIDS creeping into remote, hard-to-reach villages.

Despite many difficulties, the medical staff and peer groups here have never given up. Every day, they still persevere in going back and forth across Pu Chong Cha to find the source of infection, suspected infected people, and people who have abandoned treatment; to propagate, mobilize, counsel and test; and to provide harm reduction intervention services and HIV transmission prevention.

Dr. Pham Dinh Du - Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Control of Nghe An province said: The HIV/AIDS epidemic situation in the old Que Phong district is a miniature picture of Nghe An. To effectively implement the 95-95-95 targets, reduce the number of new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths, minimize the impact of HIV/AIDS on socio-economic development, and end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, AIDS is no longer a worrying health problem in the community... we need to continue to make efforts and try. We hope for stronger participation from Party committees, authorities, the Fatherland Front, unions, socio-political organizations and the whole community.

The fight against HIV/AIDS on both sides of Pu Chong Cha mountain is ongoing. Amidst the mist of Pu Chong Cha mountain, LNV's eyes lit up when talking about the future: "We believe that one day Pu Chong Cha will no longer be burdened with the worry of HIV/AIDS. We are the ones who have fallen and have stood up ourselves, and will continue to accompany the authorities to try to "heal" the wounds on this land; make efforts so that there will be no more people who have lost their way and made the same mistakes as we did in the past."