HANOI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- About 33 percent of new HIV infections in Vietnam were found in young high-risk populations, higher than the global average of 27 percent, local media reported on Thursday, citing data from UNAIDS 2023 HIV Estimates.
This rate put Vietnam among the seven countries with a proportion of young people among total new HIV infections higher than the regional and global average -- together with Myanmar (53 percent), Indonesia (48 percent), Thailand and the Philippines (47 percent), Cambodia (43 percent), and Laos (42 percent), local newspaper Vietnam News reported.
However, the positive note is the rate does not appear to be on an increasing trend, the newspaper quoted a UNAIDS Asia Pacific representative as reporting.
The National Strategy to End AIDS by 2030 set Vietnam for the target of 90 percent of all people living with HIV getting diagnosed by 2025.
The country has been lauded for the significant increase in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use in 2022, with about 51,493 people receiving PrEP at least once, up by 59 percent from 2021. PrEP is seen as a key strategy for the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV. ■
