A caregiver attends to children with HIV at the Linh Xuan Child Sponsor Centre in HCM City. Photo: Infonet

According to head of the HCM City HIV/AIDS prevention association Tieu Thi Thu Van, 25,000 children under 16 years old in Ho Chi Minh City are living with HIV or affected by HIV/AIDS. They still face discrimination from the community and difficulties in accessing health services.

The HCM City HIV/AIDS prevention association and the international non-governmental organization Oxfam in Vietnam jointly kicked off the project, which targets children under 18 year olds, who are being treated with antiretroviral drugs (ARV) and their caregivers at 27 outpatient clinics across the city.

The association expects the project to boost awareness of children’s rights among 1,000 affected children; 500 caregivers and 30 public personnel of local wards and communes.

The conduction of the project from June 2019 to May 2020 is set to offer vocational training to 30 teenagers and legal assistance to 200 children, while supporting 200 children in obtaining health insurance cards./.

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