FHI - ART Launch in Vietnam

SEPTEMBER 2005 � Twelve patients with HIV at Binh Thanh District Outpatient Clinic have become the first in Vietnam to benefit from new antiretroviral treatment services funded by the U.S. government.

Binh Thanh, one of the busiest clinics in Ho Chi Minh City, recently added antiretroviral therapy (ART) to its integrated program of HIV/AIDS services, which include counseling and testing, treatment for opportunistic infections, home-based care, support for orphans and vulnerable children, and tuberculosis treatment referrals. The clinic serves more than 800 HIV-positive clients, many of whom are injection drug users. More will receive ART as the program expands.

The Implementing AIDS Prevention and Care (IMPACT) Project, managed by Family Health International, helped prepare Binh Thanh to launch ART services after Vietnam joined the list of priority countries for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in 2004. With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, IMPACT:

� Procured antiretroviral drugs for Binh Thanh patients.
� Renovated a clinic to handle treatment functions, outfitting it with furniture and basic medical equipment.
� Trained staff at Binh Thanh and a district health center in HIV clinical care, treatment adherence, universal precautions, infection control and other key responsibilities.
� Developed standard operating procedures for Binh Thanh's new ART services and an adherence training tool for clinical and counseling staff, which will be used to train staff at all treatment sites in the city that receive U.S. government support.
� Improved referrals to other services at both the district and city levels, including tuberculosis treatment programs.
� Implemented a case management model, believed to be the first in Vietnam.
� Created a hotline to counsel people living with HIV and AIDS.

Binh Thanh will provide learning opportunities for other health care centers in Vietnam seeking to add ART to their services.

"Binh Thanh is an excellent model for integrated continuum-of-care, since it offered 'one-stop shopping' even before ART began," said Dr. Vu Ngoc Phinh, FHI senior program officer for care, treatment and support in Vietnam. "In addition to such essential services as counseling, testing and clinical care, the clinic also has a drop-in center for men who have sex with men and a 'Condom Caf�' on the first floor."

IMPACT and the World Health Organization will shortly support the launch of another ART site in Ho Chi Minh City. Additional ART sites are planned not only for Ho Chi Minh City but also for Quang Ninh, An Giang and Hai Phong provinces.

Organizations and agencies that collaborated with FHI to support ART at Binh Thanh include the Ho Chi Minh City Provincial AIDS Committee, the International Centre for Equal Healthcare Access and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Photo: Dr. Pham Van Tam discusses treatment options with an HIV-positive patient at Binh Thanh District Outpatient Clinic. (Photo: Do Thi Cam Nhung)