(VOVworld)- Up to 100,000 people living with HIV nationwide are currently being treated with antiretroviral (ARV) drug as a result of the on-going effective HIV/AIDS prevention and control program in Vietnam, a Health Ministry official said in a conference on Monday.

100,000 HIV carriers receive ARV treatment- Photo: VNA

Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long, head of the HIV/AIDS Department for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control attributed the result to the efficient interference measures and communications methods of the program. According to Dr. Long, the HIV/AIDS prevention system that has been set up across levels has helped reduce HIV infections to the ratio of 256 per 100,000 people, keep 400,000 people away from HIV virus and save 150,000 others from AIDS in the 2001-2015 period. During the conference, the Ministry of Health also launched a national action month for HIV/AIDS prevention and control in 2015, targeting 90 percent of HIV infected people knowing their situation, 90 percent of people living with HIV getting life-long and non-stop ARV treatment, and 90 percent ARV-using patients keeping HIV virus density under the recommended level. The action month also aims to eliminate discrimination against people living with HIV, strengthening the assistance provided by families and society as a whole as well as the responsibility of people living with HIV/AIDS themselves towards their families and society.