Centre for Promotion of Quality of Life or LIFE Center has just cooperated with Khanh Hoa Center for Disease Control to open an event marking a long journey in response to HIV/AIDS prevention and control...
Centre for Promotion of Quality of Life or LIFE Center has just cooperated with Khanh Hoa Center for Disease Control to open an event marking a long journey in response to HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Vietnam in order to promote gender equality and reduce HIV-related stigma among those infected with HIV.
Various meaningful activities
The event was attended by more than 150 representatives from many cities and provinces nationwide. They included members of LGBT and community-based organizations (CBOs). Representatives had a chance to review the success together of lessons of experience for over 1 decade of the establishment and development of LIFE Center and CBOs, and honor the contribution of the local health care sector to the sustainable growth of CBOs.
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Representatives visited the display stalls of CBOs, took part in some games and enjoyed acting delivering meaningful messages to promote gender equality, reduce stigma and discrimination against LGBT community and raise public awareness of HIV and related diseases.
A 23-year-old member of LGBT community in Nha Trang City, said, “The program gives me useful knowledge, especially about safe sex and prevention methods to reduce HIV transmission. Coming here, I feel understanding and sharing among LGBT community members.”
Since 2009, LIFE Center has made a plan to establish CBOs to provide vulnerable people and communities’ connection and access to HIV prevention and treatment program, HIV-related serviced for those at high risk of HIV infection, contributing to reaching the 95-95-95 target, that means diagnosing 95% of HIV-positive individuals, providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 95% of those diagnosed and achieving viral suppression for 95% of those treated by 2030. Since then, CBOs have played an important role in HIV prevention and control in Vietnam in general and Khanh Hoa in particular.
Reportedly, every year, the network of more than 40 CBOs under the coordination of LIFE Center provides HIV prevention counseling, HIV screening tests for nearly 40,000 high-risk people and supports nearly 10,000 people to access pre-exposure prophylaxis. LIFE-supported CBOs detect approximately 4,000 HIV-positive cases and provide 98% of those access to HIV treatment. LIFE projects contribute to the detection of HIV infections, accounting between 40 and 60% cases found in provinces where LIFE operates.
Several aid models and projects for people living with HIV
Since its establishment, LIFE Center has successfully developed many models and projects to fight AIDS such as HIV prevention intervention; Global Fund, Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations; C2P – CBO collaboration between CBOs and the health sector in HIV/AIDS prevention and control; HIV screening testing in communities, D.Health community health app, community one-stop-shop model called DOME with 6 shops, etc.
Nguyen Huy Khoa, LIFE Center Project Coordinator said, “The event marks the 11-year-old journey of contributions of organizations joined by LIFE and CBO; gaining achievements during the project implementation; promoting gender equality and combat discrimination against the LGBT community; creating a healthy living environment to improve knowledge and understanding about HIV and related diseases; sharing information about activities to get support and donations from departments and agencies to CBOs for the common goal of HIV/AIDS prevention and control in the locality.
LIFE is a social organization established in 2007 under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Association with a mission to promote the life quality of vulnerable populations. LIFE operates in the sectors of community-based organization capacity development, reproductive health care and HIV/AIDS prevention to ensure an equal and safe working environment and improving factory workers’ life quality.
D.Dan
Translated by N.T
