Vietnam Named 15th Focus Nation in President Bush's Global AIDS Plan and New $515 Million To Fight HIV/AIDS in 15 Focus Countries Also Announced

Implementing President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Randall L. Tobias has selected Vietnam as the 15th focus nation in the Emergency Plan.  It was also announced today that $515 million in additional funds would soon be released to fight HIV/AIDS in the 15 focus countries.  The President's Emergency Plan represents America's unprecedented 5-year, $15-billion commitment to fight global HIV/AIDS. 

Swift, focused American action can radically change Vietnam's disease.  The U.S. estimates that the President's Emergency Plan could prevent 660,000 new infections, support antiretroviral (ARV) drug treatment for 13,000 HIV-infected people, and provide care for the almost 80,000 people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Vietnam.

People in 15 nations (Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia) will soon benefit from an additional $515 million the United States has taken action to release today, and Vietnam will be among the focus countries eligible for this funding.  After reviewing data on many countries, we identified Vietnam as the nation where a dramatic increase in American support can make a tremendous impact.  The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Vietnam is spreading explosively beyond limited high-risk groups to Vietnamese society at large, so this is a strategic time for America to intervene.

Vietnam's population is second in size only to Nigeria among the focus countries of the President's Plan.  Its rate of infection among pregnant mothers has increased more than ten-fold in the last 7 years.  Without American action, Vietnamese society at large is predicted to suffer a further eight-fold increase in HIV-infections in just 8 years -- from an estimated 130,000 in 2002 to 1million by 2010.  This rate of increase is even higher than that projected for such countries as India, Russia, and China. 

Through programs of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control, and other agencies, the United States Government is already providing substantial aid to support HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Vietnam.  This will provide a strong framework for scaling up its efforts under this new initiative. The government of Vietnam has made a serious commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS, but has been hampered by a severe lack of resources and technical capability.  The U.S. has determined that a sharp increase in support under the President's Plan at this time would greatly improve the ability of the people of Vietnam to resist the pandemic.

In its first year of implementation, the President's Emergency Plan will support treatment for more than 200,000 people in the 15 focus nations, where approximately half of all HIV-infected people live.  America will also support care for more than a million people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and other vulnerable children.  Tens of millions will benefit from American-funded HIV/AIDS prevention messages, support for safe medical practices and prevention of mother to child HIV transmission.

The President's entire $2.4-billion commitment for fiscal year 2004 will be met.  The soon-to-be released $515 million is in addition to $350 million released in February, bringing the total first year commitment for HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and care in the 15 focus countries to $865 million.  In addition, the FY2004 total also includes $547 million to be  provided to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, $504 million for bilateral HIV/AIDS programs in almost 100 other countries around the world, $324 million for international HIV/AIDS research, $199 million for tuberculosis and malaria programs, and $15 million for the Departments of Defense and Labor and Department of State Foreign Military Financing HIV/AIDS activities.