The Socioeconomic Impact of HIV/AIDS in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam POLICY and Community of Concerned Partners (June 2003)  Full Document (English)      Order for free      email to me  Several countries bordering Viet Nam have experienced rapid increases in HIV infection rates in the last few years. During the 1990s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic also expanded quickly in Viet Nam. As of April 2003, Viet Nam had recorded 64,801 people infected with HIV, although estimates put the figure more realistically between 150,000 to 200,000. Major factors contributing the epidemic include a thriving commercial sex industry in which condom use is not the norm and sex workers are targeted with punitive actions rather than monitored for health problems; frequent population migration; injecting drug use; substantial sexual links between drug users and other communities; limited public discussion of HIV/AIDS; and pervasive stigma. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Viet Nam is still in the “concentrated epidemic” stage. The disease has spread rapidly in specific subpopulations, particularly among injecting drug users (IDUs), sex workers, and males who have sex with males (MSM); however, it is not yet well established in the general population. However, the current status of the epidemic does not mean that it is compartmentalized or restricted to these groups. The active networks of risk within and among these subpopulations and the general population will determine the epidemic’s future course.