A doctor gives advice to an HIV patient at the healthcare centre of Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) service for HIV prevention wasofficially launched in Hanoi on April 16.
PrEP allows people who do nothave HIV but are at substantial risk of infection to prevent HIV by taking apill every day, as part of a combination HIV prevention strategy.
Phan Thi Thu Huong, vice director of the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDSControl of the Ministry of Health, said PrEP is extremely effective when taken correctly, and would reduce therisk of HIV infection via unsafe sex by 90 percent or via injection drug use by70 percent.
According to vice director of the Health Department of Hanoi Hoang Duc Hanh,the service will first be provided at the Dong Da healthcare centre, Long Bienhealthcare centre, and Hanoi Medical University before it is expanded in Hanoi.
PrEP was first piloted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2016. Theservice is being provided in eight clinics in Hanoi.
The Ministry of Health made it part of the direction for HIV/AIDS care andtreatment in 2017 and passed a plan to roll out the service for the 2018-2020in 2018 with the provision of free antiretroviral drugs for HIV treatment.
During this expansion period, the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Controlin coordination with projects and organizations made PrEP available at 43private and state clinics in 11 provinces and cities. Over 2,000 people areusing the service.
By the end of 2018, the number of alive HIV carriers in Vietnam was estimatedat 250,000, with 10,000 new infections found a year.
Provinces and cities reported in 2018 that HIV infections reduced significantlyin the groups of drugs addicts (from 29-30 percent to 9-10 percent) and sexworkers (from 5 percent to 3.4 percent) but rose in the group of men having sexwith men (from 7.4 percent to 11.4 percent).
It is estimated thatVietnam has around 174,000 men having sex with men (MSM) aged from 15-49,including over 30,000 in Hanoi (or 17.5 percent).
Since 2015, the World HealthOrganization has strongly recommended PrEP as an additional prevention choicefor people at substantial risk of HIV.-VNA
Simultaneous events were held in Hanoi, Hai Phong city, Nghe An province and Ho Chi Minh City on March 8 to celebrate the first patients receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs covered by social health insurance (SHI).
Up to 98 percent of the 1,024 HIV carriers in the northern province of Bac Giang are receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs covered by health insurance (SHI), heard a medical event in the province on March 15.
The Department of Maternal and Child Health under the Ministry of Health (MoH) held a workshop in the central city of Da Nang on March 19 to launch a national action plan on the eradication of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis in the 2018-2030 period.
Ho Chi Minh City’s Paediatrics Hospital No1’s neurology and infectious diseases department has admitted children with HIV whose mothers did not have HIV tests during their pregnancy.
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The patient, Tieu Viet But, born in 1970 and residing in Binh Tri commune, Binh Son district, the central province of Quang Ngai, was working aboard fishing vessel Qng – 95657TS when the incident occurred at 7:00 am.
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The PM called for closer, broader, and more effective cooperation with Vietnamese partners, guided by the principles of mutual benefit, joint efforts, shared outcomes, and common development, including promoting stronger public-private partnerships and collaboration with businesses.
Renowned for its expertise in complex surgeries, the hospital has attracted foreign patients seeking treatment for conditions such as kidney and urinary tract stones, urological and gastrointestinal cancers, and male reproductive disorders. Most procedures are performed using advanced techniques, including laparoscopy and robotic surgery. T
Leading Vietnamese companies specialising in respiratory and dermatological treatments, traditional medicine, immune support supplements, and functional foods will have an opportunity to connect with international distributors and secure export deals.
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All eligible patients will receive surgical interventions and post-operative care in accordance with Vietnamese medical standards and global care protocols.
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The Red Journey has become the country’s largest and most effective blood donation campaign, leaving a strong impression on the national voluntary blood donation movement.
This case marks the ninth fetal cardiac intervention conducted in HCM City, and it was considered the most technically demanding to date due to the fetus’s extremely early gestational age and the severity of the condition as diagnosed with aortic atresia.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place one day after the VNVC Vaccine JS Company and Sanofi Group exchanged cooperation documents on vaccine production technology transfer under the witness of State President Luong Cuong and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Vietnam’s traditional medicine took centre stage at the International Congress Biopharm Nonclinical Development, BioNCiD 2025, held on May 25-26 in the Cuban city of Varadero, amid growing global interest in sustainable healthcare solutions.
Under the agreement, VNVC and Sanofi will gradually implement technology transfers to enable domestic production of several key Sanofi vaccines that are widely used in Vietnam. In addition, Sanofi will support VNVC in training human resources and quality management in vaccine research and manufacturing.
Despite the ongoing global circulation and unpredictable developments of SARS-CoV-2, the World Health Organisation (WHO) hasn’t issued new warnings about COVID-19, said the Ministry of Health.
A doctor gives advice to an HIV patient at the healthcare centre of Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi (Photo: VNA) 
