RTI International Helps Vietnam in Fight Against HIV and AIDS

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will help the Government of Vietnam deliver high-quality HIV prevention, care and treatment services to the nation's most-at-risk populations.

The USAID Pathways for Participation project aims to create a civil society that contributes to the Government of Vietnam's HIV and AIDS response. The project will support local agencies and civil society organizations in their collection, analysis and use of data in order to create more effective health services for the communities in Vietnam that are most affected by HIV.

"We are pleased to partner again with USAID on such a vitally important global health program," said Barbara Kennedy, vice president of RTI's Global Health Group. "This program will help ensure the robustness of areas that are critical for ensuring that at-risk populations will receive quality HIV prevention, care and treatment."

About 33 million people are living with HIV around the world, according to the World Health Organization's 2009 report on the subject. An estimated 254,000 people in Vietnam are infected with HIV, and more than half of those needing anti-retroviral treatment are currently receiving it.

Under the USAID Pathways project, RTI will partner with CARE International in Vietnam to prioritize efforts in "hotspots" where people who engage in high-risk behaviors that drive the HIV epidemic live and work, and where the most HIV-affected communities are concentrated. Targeted provinces include An Giang, Can Tho, Dien Bien, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Lao Cai, Nghe An, and Quang Ninh. Targeted high-risk populations will include injecting drug users and their sexual partners, sex workers (female and male), clients of sex workers, men who have sex with men and people living with HIV.

RTI conducts HIV research and provides comprehensive technical assistance to U.S. federal agencies, international health ministries and local governments, donors, foundations, and other clients seeking to prevent the spread of HIV in the United States and around the world. RTI's HIV and AIDS work builds upon behavioral research and interventions, including community-based and clinical trials, as well as decades of applied program experience in developing countries.