1/3rd of new HIV infections in Vietnam found in young population: Report

Hanoi, July 21 (IANS) Nearly 33 per cent of new HIV infections in Vietnam were found in young high-risk population, higher than the global average of 27 per cent, local media reported, citing data from UNAIDS 2023 HIV Estimates.

This rate put Vietnam among the seven countries with a proportion of young people among total new HIV infections higher than the regional and global average -- together with Myanmar (53 per cent), Indonesia (48 per cent), Thailand and the Philippines (47 per cent), Cambodia (43 per cent), and Laos (42 per cent), local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Thursday.

However, the positive note is the rate does not appear to be on an increasing trend, the newspaper quoted a UNAIDS Asia Pacific representative as reporting.

The National Strategy to End AIDS by 2030 set Vietnam for the target of 90 per cent of all people living with HIV getting diagnosed by 2025, Xinhua news agency reported.

The country has been lauded for the significant increase in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use in 2022, with about 51,493 people receiving PrEP at least once, up by 59 per cent from 2021. PrEP is seen as a key strategy for the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV.