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What You Should Know About HIV/AIDS in Vietnam, Part 2

This is the second post on a two-part series on HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. Our first post focused on the current HIV/AIDS situation in Vietnam. As the International AIDS conference in Washington D.C. rolls on, this second post will focus on the history and stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in the country.

HIV was first detected in Vietnam 1990, when the virus infection surfaced in Saigon. Three years later, in 1993, the first AIDS case was identified. Since then the numbers have skyrocketed, and with this, stigma surrounding the disease grew as well.

One of the contributing factors to the rise in the numbers of HIV/AIDS cases was the increase in prostitution and the use of illegal drugs. Since these actions are considered “social evils” that would bring negative consequences to society, the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic was seen as the result of these “evils”. Historically, drug users and sex workers have been scorned from society whether or not they are infected with HIV/AIDS, but since a percentage of HIV/AIDS are drug users or sex workers, the stigma from these groups transferred over to the disease as a whole. It seems that many people make assumptions that all people living with HIV/AIDS contracted it through either sex or drugs, further widening the discrimination rift in Vietnam. UNAIDS, the United Nations-backed AIDS prevention, treatment and eradication program, puts it this way:

HIV/AIDS-related stigma can be described as a ‘process of devaluation’ of people living with or associated with HIV/AIDS. This stigma often stems from the underlying stigmatization of sex and intravenous drug use—two of the primary routes of HIV infection.

In addition to the morality aspect, fear of the disease has also perpetuated HIV/AIDS stigma in Vietnam. Much like past fears of leprosy and tuberculosis, the anxiety over HIV/AIDS often makes people uncertain about transmission and distrusting of information they are given. For instance, in a study by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) published in 2004, researchers Khuat Thu Hong, Nguyen Thi Van Anh and Jessica Ogden interviewed a woman from Hai Phong in her 50s who disclosed:

If in the family there is a child or husband or wife who gets HIV, honestly, the family considers those as dead already. Even though that person could live five years longer, that person is regarded as not living in this world.

It has been found that some people in Vietnam believe that the best way to keep themselves free from HIV/AIDS is to stay away from anyone who might have contracted the disease, which creates a form of social isolation for many HIV/AIDS victims.

There have been a few attempts at stopping the stigma and discrimination in Vietnam by the Vietnamese government. According to the ICRW’s study, “The Ordinance on the Prevention and Fight against HIV/AIDS (GOV 1995) and the Decree No 34/CP(GOV 1996) are the two most important legal documents regarding activities to reduce HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.” These documents were an attempt to alleviate some of the AIDS-related stigma from society. The Ordinance sought to protect people living with HIV/AIDS from the stigma and discrimination. It also states that the government, social organizations, and the military forces have the ability to provide services and support for HIV/AIDS patients. The Ordinance requires family members to provide care and support to HIV/AIDS patients, and it also attempted to stop health care providers from refusing to treat HIV/AIDS patients. The Decree focused on the stigma through the media, prohibiting media providers from sharing information about HIV/AIDS patients. Though these documents tried to combat the stigma, the government and media still inadvertently promote the stigma by linking HIV/AIDS cases to drug use and sex work.

There is still a lot that can be done when it comes to eradicating the HIV/AIDS stigma in Vietnam. THE ICRW report concludes that the solution lies not in government ordinances, but in focusing on creating mass social change. The stigma could be eliminated if people were able to reduce fear of casual transmission, de-link HIV/AIDS and people living with HIV/AIDS from “social evils,” and promote positive messages on people battling HIV/AIDS. This is not going to be achieved easily, but it is a place to start tackling the stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS.

Photo collage by Flickr user Elena! (Creative Commons)

This post was prepared with the help of a VNHELP volunteer.

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