AIDS on rise in Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam — The top U.S. AIDS adviser got a firsthand look Friday at Vietnam’s swelling HIV problem as he met with government officials and HIV-positive patients in a country where the epidemic threatens to cross over from high-risk groups into the general population.

Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias, on a three-day visit to Hanoi, was hoping to get a clearer picture of the communist country’s struggle to keep the disease contained to mostly intravenous drug users and sex workers.

The trip comes after President Bush last month named Vietnam as one of 15 countries eligible for funding from America’s $15 billion global AIDS plan. It was the only Asian nation included in the plan and drew criticism from some who expected China or India to be higher on the list because of their much more alarming infection rates.

“Vietnam is a country where the epidemic … is on the verge of exploding into the general population,” Tobias said after touring Bach Mai hospital, the country’s leading HIV/AIDS treatment facility.

He said new infections in Vietnam were on pace to increase eightfold to 1 million by 2010, compared to three times and 7.5 times for India and China, respectively. The program will add an additional $10 million this year to the $8 million Vietnam was already receiving from the U.S. government.

Tobias said the funds would target prevention, treatment and care, but added it has not been determined exactly how the money will be spent.