USAID improves private clinic’s capacity to provide innovative HIV prevention medication
VGP - USAID’s Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project supported ASK Minh Ngoc Polyclinic, a private clinic in Ha Noi that targets MSM and other LGBT+ groups, to apply for a license with the Ha Noi Department of Health to provide PrEP, a process that took for more than one year.
PrEP is a powerful medication for HIV prevention and can reduce the risk of HIV infection by more than 92 percent if taken daily, as part of a combination HIV prevention strategy. USAID has been working to enhance access to the PrEP service among key population groups, including men who have sex with men (MSM).
At the same time, the activity helped prepare rooms and facilities, and provided professional support to train prescribing doctors and counselors. Thanks to this support, the clinic obtained a license to provide PrEP on October 26 and began providing PrEP to its first client on November 9. In less than four working days, the clinic enrolled 33 clients on PrEP, equivalent to 9.6 percent of their annual target.
USAID’s support to expand the number of sites that provide PrEP in Ha Noi will further improve the city’s and country’s efforts to achieve HIV epidemic control. Nationwide, Viet Nam now has 45 private clinics like ASK Minh Ngoc that provide PrEP services, 14 of which have received USAID support.
By Hoang Ha