HCM CITY — Insufficient co-operation between authorities, drop-in centres and NGOs is HCM City’s biggest hurdle in protecting HIV–infected orphans, participants said during a seminar yesterday.
The seminar, hosted by the AIDS Committee of HCM City, aimed to expand the Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme, which has been running in HCM City since 2005.
The OVC programme cares for HIV-infected orphans, who range from babies to teenagers. It provides children with health care, food, education, emotional counseling, shelter and legal support.
The city has 70,000 orphaned children, of which 2,500 carry HIV.
About six hundred children are born to HIV-infected mothers every year, according to the AIDS Committee.
Le Truong Giang, deputy head of the HCM City Department of Health and vice chairman of the AIDS Committee, said that the Government has established a strategy that calls for every single HIV-infected orphan to be supported by 2010.
Giang added that while the city has helped to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS on children, co-operation between government agencies and NGOs should be improved.
Currently, the city has only 11 centres applying the OVC programme, treating 4,212 orphans. The programme has received support from international and local organisations.
However, according to the AIDS Committee, many needs remain unmet because there are too few centres providing care for infected orphans.
“We [the AIDS Committee] hope to receive support from many agencies and organisations in order to provide better care for the children,” Giang said.
He added, “in previous years, most of the HIV-infected children died before they turned five. But in recent years, thanks to advanced treatment and better care, the children can live to 18 years old.”
In past years, around 2,000 people have died in HCM City per year from HIV-related illnesses. In 2008, however that number decreased to 500. —
