As funds from international sources for HIV/AIDS prevention are shriking, patients need to buy health insurance to cover treatment, a spokeswoman for HCM City's HIV/AIDS Prevention Committee has said.
As funds from international sources for HIV/AIDS prevention are shriking, patients need to buy health insurance to cover treatment, a spokeswoman for HCM City's HIV/AIDS Prevention Committee has said.
At a workshop held on September 13 in the City, Tieu Thi Thu Van, head of the committee, said the State budget allocation is not enough to meet less than 10 percent of the need despite a 20 percent increase in the annual funding from the city’s authorities.
So it is very difficult to maintain the number of staff as well as the quality of HIV/AIDS prevention would be difficult, she said.
Nearly 600 new HIV-infected pregnant women receive treatment and nearly 200 children are protected from HIV each year.
Last year, the city treated 16,000 patients with anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment. Thanks to foreign funds, the number of patients receiving ARV treatment free of charge increase to 21,000.
If patients bought health insurance, part of their ARV treatments would be subsidised, Van said, adding that the city has set a goal of having 45 percent of HIV-infected patients covered by health insurance next year.
Many patients, however, are reluctant to buy insurance because they must co-pay the ARV treatment fee, according to Van.
Local funding from the State budget and aid from social organisations were two other sources of support under consideration.
In the whole country 54,000 AIDS patients have died so far, while more than 100,000 others are living with the fatal disease.
(Source:VNA/VOV)
