PRESS RELEASE

July 1, 2008

Six New HIV/AIDS Grants Supported by U.S. Government Launched in Vietnam

The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Vietnam through Pact Vietnam has just announced its support for six grants totaling an estimated $1.4 million under three HIV/AIDS Initiatives, namely: the HIV Care Local Partnership Initiative, the Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS Education for Secondary School Students Initiative and the Engendering the Care and Treatment Response Initiative.

The first initiative is designed to support local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to increase access to community/home-based care and support for people living with HIV and orphans and vulnerable children. Organizations receiving grant awards to implement programs under this initiative are: 1) the Center for Community Health Promotion (CHP), 2) CARE International in Vietnam, 3) CESVI, and 4) Health and Environment Services Development and Investment (HESDI). Program activities will be implemented. in Nghe An, Quang Ninh, and Hai Phong provinces until September, 2009.

The second initiative will assist the Ministry of Education and Training in providing reproductive health and HIV/AIDS education to secondary school students and will be implemented by Save the Children USA nationally, in Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh and Quang Tri provinces, until September, 2010.

The third initiative is designed to improve the scope and quality of services provided to women living with HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam using an integrated assessment-implementation-evaluation approach. The program will be implemented by the Center for Community Health and Development (COHED), in partnership with Development Center for Promotion of Quality of Life (Life Center) and Boston University’s Center for International Health and Development (CIHD) in Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City until September, 2009.

The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), announced in January 2003, is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease -- a five-year, $15 billion, multifaceted approach to combating the disease around the world. The six projects noted above to support HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care are among the many projects funded by PEPFAR’s budget of $88 million in Vietnam in 2008.

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