Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

Youth Targeted in Hanoi HIV/AIDS Advocacy Project

The Asian Development Bank has funded a project to address HIV/AIDS vulnerability among youth in a slum area in Hanoi, Viet Nam. It was carried out by a nongovernment organization, the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and the Pacific (AFAP).

The organization and its Vietnamese partners reported that they are confident that the project can be sustained beyond the support received by ADB and hopes to expand its activities to other communities at risk.

The project was concentrated in Phuc Tan Ward, one of the poorest areas of Hanoi, where migrants from the countryside come to find shelter while looking for jobs.

Network Established to Ensure Long-Term Sustainability

AFAP reported that the project has successfully established a well-defined network to ensure its long-term sustainability.

"Overall, the project has met its achievements and is well established to continue activities post project," an external evaluation report concluded.

The report said that the project had attracted the support of the city authorities because of its effectiveness. It noted that the public campaign on World AIDS Day in 2007 and 2008 mobilized thousands of participants. Their activities were broadcast on television.

Early Local Government Support Crucial

Local government agencies were involved in the project, including the Hanoi Preventive HIV/AIDS Center and the Phuc Tan People's Committee. AFAP reported that the government's support was instrumental in the project's success and sustainability. A state agency, the Committee for Population and Family Health, will continue to provide condoms to the health station in Phuc Tan Ward. The health station then delivers condoms to nine condom delivery points in residential areas. The station distributes them to recipients near their homes.

Women Play Important Role

Women who manage the condom delivery points have been trained and will provide consultation on condom use, reproductive health, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV prevention to those who receive condoms.

Furthermore, the ward has established a club for female migrant laborers, aged 15 to 49, who will meet once a month. Established by a local nongovernment organization, the club will provide knowledge on reproductive health, children's health, nutrition, and HIV prevention.
HIV/AIDS Prevention Identified As a Priority

The Government of Viet Nam has made HIV/AIDS prevention a priority issue. Each year, the Phuc Tan Ward People's Committee receives a small fund from the government to organize public campaigns on HIV prevention and stigma reduction.

Project Goals Met

The project's final report indicated that it had achieved its goals through two components: Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) programs and Structural Factors Reducing HIV Risks and Vulnerability.

BCC programs include setting up health clubs to reach the youth. The clubs target cheap guesthouses where young people live, as well as owners who want to be peer educators.

Success Measured Through Behavioral Change

AFAP reported at the start of the project that only 36% of youth surveyed had a correct understanding of how HIV is transmitted, while 10% believed that HIV-positive people should be isolated and discriminated against. At the close of the project, all youth who were surveyed understood that AIDS was not curable but could be prevented using measures such as clean needles and condoms. Almost all now accept that there should be no discrimination against HIV-positive people.

Social marketing efforts were successful in changing attitudes toward condom use.

Ongoing Need for Support and Expansion

AFAP said they expect there to be a continuous flow of poor migrant youth from rural areas to Phuc Tan Ward. Therefore, AFAP urged for these HIV/AIDS education efforts to continue.

The group believes that the project's popularity and success can serve as an example for similar projects in other communities at risk in Viet Nam.