Contacts: In Hanoi:
Hoang Thanh Ha 84.4.9346600 hha@worldbank.org
In Washington, DC:
Melissa Fossberg 202.458.4145 mfossberg@worldbank.org
Hanoi, May 26, 2005 –The State Bank of Vietnam Governor, H.E. Le Duc Thuy and the World Bank's Country Director for Vietnam Klaus Rohland, today signed the World Bank’s largest grant agreement of US$35 million to support Vietnam’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Project. The Project aims to help reduce transmission of the disease and prevent its spreading into the general population. “The Project will help improve the knowledge and understanding of HIV transmission among different targeted groups and increase the commitment of local authorities for HIV/AIDS Prevention,” said Governor Le Duc Thuy of the State Bank of Vietnam. Klaus Rohland, Director of the World Bank in Vietnam said, “HIV and AIDS affects the lives of people everywhere on the planet. Each year five million people become infected with HIV- that’s more than thirteen thousand a day. A young person is infected with HIV every 14 seconds, that’s around 6000 everyday.” “But HIV/AIDS isn’t about facts and figures -- it’s about the people behind them. This Project will work closely with people whose lives have been impacted by HIV and AIDS and those that are working hard to make a difference and to stop the spread of HIV in Vietnam,” said Rohland. A major part of the Project funds will be transferred directly to 20 provinces/cities to develop and implement action programs in line with the National Strategy on HIV/AIDS Prevention. Activities will be focused on halting HIV transmission. Vice Minister of Health Mr. Le Ngoc Trong who attended the signing ceremony stressed the decentralized nature of the project approach. He said, “More than 60 percent of the grant will be allocated to the provinces and cities to implement their provincial plans. Through this approach the central level will not impose their views on the design of these plans, they will instead encourage local authorities to develop activities that reflect their priorities based on the specificity of their problems.” The Project will also support the government's efforts to develop a national system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their National HIV/AIDS Prevention Program; it will include support for multi-sectoral collaboration to reduce stigma and discrimination; it will help build capacity at the national and provincial level and encourage innovative thinking on preventing HIV/AIDS. A community-based approach to integrating harm reduction activities with treatment and care will be piloted in Hanoi, Hai Phong and Khanh Hoa. MOH will work closely with MOLISA in this pilot program. |
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