The BBC World Service Trust is focusing on health in Vietnam. We are developing a national mass media campaign to raise awareness of the risk of HIV infection among young people, and to change attitudes towards people living with HIV and AIDS.
Context
Vietnam's economy is growing at over 8% per year, making it one of the fastest developing nations in Asia.
The country has already achieved the first Millennium Development Goal by eradicating extreme poverty - less than 7% of the population lives on less than $1 per day.
But the spread of HIV and AIDS threatens to undermine growing prosperity.
HIV and AIDS
The BBC World Service Trust arrives at a critical time in Vietnam's fight against the HIV epidemic
David Wood, Head of Project
In 1995, there were only 4,000 people living with HIV and AIDS in Vietnam. By 2007 this number had increased to over 100,000.
Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years account for approximately 40% of all HIV infections in Vietnam.
"The Trust arrives at a critical time in Vietnam's fight against the HIV epidemic," says David Wood, the Head of Project. "The government has recognised the importance of tackling HIV prevention among youth and we are here to support that with a high quality mass media campaign."
Young men are the driving force behind the epidemic. A recent survey of Vietnamese youth found that 50% of sexually active young men had their first sexual encounter in a hotel, and that it was likely to have been with a sex worker.
Now a growing number of women are being infected by men who have had unprotected sex with sex workers or by the risks of injecting drugs, and the virus is spreading to the general population.
Despite the increasing risk, condom use is still frowned on by young men and women in the country.
A typical comment from formative research commissioned for the project in mid 2007 reflects this attitude: 'A correct person doesn't need to use that. Only those who have sex with sex workers need it. For me or other friends, it is unacceptable.'
Facts
- Voluntary counselling and HIV testing services have been promised for all provinces in Vietnam by 2010
- Between 1993 and 2004, child and infant mortality rates halved and access to safe water trebled
- School enrolment at primary level is almost universal
- There are widening divisions between the infrastructure-rich south and the more populated, but poorer northern regions
Working in partnership
We are working in partnership with the Vietnamese government, Vietnam Television (VTV), provincial radio stations and NGOs to develop a national mass media campaign to raise awareness about the risk of HIV infection among young people, and to change attitudes towards people living with HIV and AIDS. More
The campaign will use television, radio, print and the internet to challenge the stigma associated with using condoms, and to encourage 15-24 year olds in 15 provinces to talk openly about sex and come forward for HIV testing and counselling.
