US embassy cable - 05HANOI439

UNCLAS  HANOI 000439 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR S/GAC - MANI 
DEPT PASS TO OGHA OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KHIV, EAID, SOCI, PGOV, PREL, VM 
SUBJECT: DEPUTY GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR VISITS HANOI 
 
REF: HO CHI MINH CITY 00132 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  From January 26-31, 2005, Dr. Joseph 
O'Neill, Deputy Coordinator and Chief Medical Officer in the 
Office of Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) visited Vietnam to 
become better acquainted with the HIV/AIDS situation and 
with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
(Emergency Plan) program. He met with key partners from the 
Government of Vietnam (GVN), local and international NGOs 
and multilateral partners in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City 
(reftel).  Dr. O'Neill reviewed recent developments in the 
Emergency Fund both in Vietnam and more broadly, and 
stressed that GVN needs to coordinate effectively across 
ministries.  Acknowledging this, his interlocutors described 
the problems they face and called for more meetings at the 
technical level. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) Deputy Coordinator and Chief Medical Officer in the 
Office of Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC) Dr. Joseph O'Neill 
visited Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City January 26-31, to assess 
the HIV/AIDS situation in Vietnam and the President's 
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan) program in 
country. 
 
3. (SBU) Dr. O'Neill met with Vice Minister of Health (MOH) 
Dr. Nguyen Thi Xuyen and representatives of the various 
Departments focusing on HIV/AIDS and MOH's Department of 
International Cooperation on January 26.  He stressed that 
the Emergency Plan was created to bring all the talents of 
the existing USG HIV/AIDS activities under a unified program 
because prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS is 
complex and multifaceted. He went on to explain that the 
Emergency Plan would add funds to existing and new programs 
to provide treatment with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and to 
add programs for orphans and vulnerable populations, among 
others.  He also announced that the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) had given a pharmaceutical manufacturer 
in South Africa conditional approval to produce 
antiretroviral drugs.  This FDA approval process was 
developed to ensure that people of the world with HIV/AIDS 
would have the assurance of safe and effective 
antiretroviral drugs.  Vice Minister Xuyen welcomed this 
development and noted that the MOH was coordinating the 
Emergency Plan activities to meet the objectives of 
Vietnam's National Strategy on HIV/AIDs Prevention and 
Control.  Noting that the Emergency Plan was challenging 
since it required close collaboration with many different 
Vietnamese government offices, he requested more meetings 
with the Emergency Plan Country Team at the technical level. 
 
4.  (U) In meetings and site visits with non-GVN Emergency 
Plan partners, Dr. O'Neill announced that OGAC had approved 
all activities proposed in the FY05 Vietnam Country 
Operational Plan and the approval of the Five-Year USG 
Strategy for Combating HIV/AIDS in Vietnam.  Although 
Congressional Notification was pending, funds were expected 
to arrive in Vietnam by the end of February 2005.  Among the 
issues that Emergency Plan partners brought to Dr. O'Neill's 
attention included: the use of generic versus branded ARVs; 
the lack of information on resistance to ARVs in Vietnam; 
the importance of sustainability and dissemination of 
success; linkage of treatment, care and prevention programs; 
and the need to push the HIV/AIDS agenda to the highest 
level of the national leadership and down to the grass 
roots.  Emergency Plan partners also requested greater 
coordination among donors and agreement to view substance 
abuse as a force driving the HIV/AIDs epidemic in Vietnam. 
 
5. (U) In a meeting with officials from MOH, the Ministry of 
National Defense (MND) and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids 
and Social Affairs (MOLISA), Dr. O'Neill emphasized that 
close collaboration and coordination among various GVN 
Ministries working on HIV/AIDs programs was essential for 
the success of the Emergency Plan in Vietnam.  MND's Sr. 
Colonel Nguyen Tho Lo explained that MND provides prevention 
programs and medical care to more than 400,000 members of 
the Vietnamese military and to an unknown number of 
civilians.  He expressed satisfaction with working with the 
U.S. Department of Defense in combating HIV/AIDs and his 
willingness to continue working on future Emergency Plan 
activities.  MOLISA's Le Van Nha said that his Ministry is 
responsible for running "05" rehabilitation centers for 
female sex workers and "06" rehabilitation centers 
intravenous drug users, as well directing occupational 
health programs.  He went on to express interest in 
beginning methadone treatment in rehabilitation centers, but 
noted that health centers in Vietnam are generally in poor 
 
condition and ill-equipped. Nha said that Vietnam has been 
operating rehabilitation centers for about 10 years, but 
added that these centers only treat about 35 percent of the 
drug using population and added that center staff training 
on HIV/AIDS is inadequate. 
 
MARINE 
 
 
NNNN