Besides national communication activities, UNICEF HIV/AIDS support in Viet Nam is concentrated on a limited number of sites with high prevalence or high vulnerability.

Care and support is an urgent priority in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Haiphong, where the epidemic is more mature. Ho Chi Minh City has proven an excellent testing ground for innovative programming. UNICEF also supports activities in some poorer districts in provinces on the borders with China, Lao PDR and Cambodia, which are seeing rapid increases in the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly among ethnic minorities.

Peer trainers show out-of-school youth from Viet Nam's Khmer minority how to use a condom

Lifeskills: In School

Children in every primary school and a growing number of secondary schools have been receiving Lifeskills-based HIV/AIDS/STI education since early 2000. With UNICEF support, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has developed lesson plans for years 1-12, incorporated them into the national curriculum, and implemented a countrywide training program to prepare teachers. UNICEF continues to support development of the HIV/AIDS/STI and Healthy Living curricula, and production of materials and training of teachers for selected schools.

Mobile youth teams visit a school in Lang Son province

The reception of Viet Nam's school Lifeskills program has been enthusiastic. In program evaluations, teachers say they like with the new participatory classroom approach and are happy to have found a way they can comfortably discuss sensitive topics with their students.

Lifeskills: Out of School

Since 1998, two UNICEF-supported teams of young people with HIV/AIDS have been carrying out peer education activities on safe sex, safe injection and living with HIV/AIDS in Lang Son province. The teams perform outreach work with other young people with HIV/AIDS and with substance abusers. They also visit school health clubs and youth healthy living clubs to interact with children and adolescents and reduce discriminatory attitudes.

The Viet Nam Red Cross (VRC) is a UNICEF partner in a range of Lifeskills peer education projects that target children and young people outside the school setting. In Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, the local Red Cross network cooperates closely with the local Committee for Protection and Care of Children to bring Lifeskills education and information on substance abuse prevention, sexuality and HIV/AIDS to street children, children of poor families and other vulnerable groups. UNICEF continues expansion of its Out-of-school Youth Lifeskills Program, in partnership with the Australian Red Cross and VRC.

A Viet Nam Red Cross mobile team puts on a show about HIV/AIDS

Lifeskills for Women

Women of reproductive age who are in established relationships are the target for another UNICEF-supported prevention project implemented by the Viet Nam Women's Union. Women's Union trainers help women to develop skills that will help them to be more assertive in negotiating safer sex with their male partners. A manual developed by CARE Viet Nam will be adapted, with permission, to incorporate the Lifeskills approach.

Reproductive Health

Following advocacy and technical assistance at the planning stage, UNICEF-supported pilot projects on strengthening reproductive health and mother and child health services are up and running in five districts with high HIV prevalence. UNICEF provides drugs, testing kits, auto-destruct syringes and safe disposal boxes to the projects.

The services are being expanded to include voluntary confidential counselling and testing (VCCT) for HIV and other components of prevention of parent-to-child HIV transmission, such as safe delivery practices, and advice on infant feeding options. Training is being provided for health workers in hospitals, at commune level, in the private sector and mass organizations.

Care and Support

UNICEF care and support programming focusses on the cities and border areas where HIV/AIDS epidemics have been present for longer. Programming supports the organization of peer discussion groups of people with HIV/AIDS, to reinforce their self-esteem, training in good health practices and production and distribution of a leaflet on "Living With HIV/AIDS". Training on HIV/AIDS care for family members and other care providers has also been supported. UNICEF has also provided small grants for the start-up of income generation activities to help families and communities support people with HIV/AIDS have been provided by UNICEF.

Project staff and caregivers working with especially vulnerable children are being trained on care and support for children with or affected by HIV/AIDS. In particular, UNICEF ensures children of HIV-positive parents obtain birth registration documents, and that information is available on legal issues such as inheritance.

In Cho Moi district in An Giang province, UNICEF has supported car and motorbike washing services run by people with HIV/AIDS, as well as self-care activities.

With Hope and Help: Viet Nam

The Vietnamese With Hope and Help film was completed in 2000. All 61 Provincial AIDS Committees have received copies for broadcast on local TV and to use in training workshops. With Hope and Help: Vietnam has proven popular among a number of international NGOs who have used it for trainings. Accompanying manuals are being developed and translated.

Cross-border Cooperation

With UNICEF support, Lao Cai province hosted the second cross-border meeting on HIV/AIDS prevention and care between local authorities and those in Hekou county, Yunnan province, China, in 2000. The meeting brought together local leaders, experts and health personnel from the two countries to discuss collaboration on activities and training and in the exchange of printed HIV/AIDS education materials.