VIETNAM NAMED FIFTEENTH FOCUS NATION IN PRESIDENT'S GLOBAL AIDS PLAN

New $515 Million to Fight HIV/AIDS in Fifteen 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 fifteenth 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 fifteen focus countries.  The President's Emergency Plan represents America's unprecedented five year, $15 billion dollar commitment to fight global HIV/AIDS. 

"With swift, focused American action, Vietnam's disease trajectory can be radically changed," said Secretary of State Colin Powell.  "We estimate 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 65,000 people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Vietnam."

"I am pleased that people in fifteen nations will soon benefit from an additional $515 million the United States has taken action to release today, and that 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," said Ambassador Tobias.

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 seven years.  Without American action, Vietnamese society at large is predicted to suffer a further eight-fold increase in HIV-infections in just eight years -- from 130,000 in 2002 to one million by 2010.  This rate of increase is even higher than that projected for such countries as India, Russia and China. 

America already provides some HIV/AIDS support to Vietnam, providing a base for scaling up its efforts. 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 ARV treatment for more than 200,000 people in the fifteen 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 fifteen 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.

Editor's Note:  the other 14 focus countries in the President's Emergency Plan are Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.