United Nations in Viet Nam Welcomes the Country’s First Methadone Co-pay Clinic in Hai Phong

Ha Noi, 21 June 2011 – The United Nations in Viet Nam welcomes the opening on 18 June of the first methadone co-pay clinic in Viet Nam as part of the country’s ongoing efforts to prevent HIV infection among people who inject drugs and to build a more sustainable and multi-sectoral response to HIV. 

This community-led clinic is the first methadone clinic under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the focal ministry for drug dependence issues in Viet Nam. 

The United Nations strongly encourages expansion of community based methadone treatment as part of a holistic approach to drug dependency and HIV. Earlier this month, the Government of Viet Nam sent a delegation led by His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong to the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, where countries committed to reduce by half new HIV transmission among people who inject drugs by 2015.

The United Nations highly appreciates the leadership of Hai Phong’s Provincial Committee for AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention and Control, especially Hai Phong’s Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in providing greater access to methadone treatment for people who inject drugs.

“This latest initiative by the Hai Phong People’s Committee will hopefully provide a model that can be applied in other parts of the country,” said Mr. Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Viet Nam Country Director and Chair of the Joint UN Team on HIV in Viet Nam.

“I would like to congratulate the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its continued support for Viet Nam’s response to HIV,” he added. “Investment in high-impact HIV prevention programs like this should be the priority for Viet Nam as it works towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal number six to halt and reverse the HIV epidemic by 2015.” 

Contact
UN Communications Office in Viet Nam | Nguyen Thi Bich Hue | tel. 3822 4383 Ext.105 |bichhuen@unaids.org