VIETNAM

Vietnam HIV-Addiction Technology Transfer Center

SAMHSA, in collaboration with PEPFAR has awarded UCLA a grant for $250,000 per year for 3 years to work with Hanoi Medical University to establish the Vietnam HIV-Addiction Technology Transfer Center (VH-ATTC).  The goal of the VH-ATTC is to develop the workforce in Vietnam to deliver evidence based services to reduce the individual and societal harm due to HIV and substance use disorders (SUD) in Vietnam.

Based at Hanoi Medical University (HMU), the VH-ATTC will organize training programs for counselors and medical professionals, develop partnerships between HMU leaders, government ministries, policymakers, and health professionals, and promote the principles of recovery-oriented systems of care.

There is an urgent need for workforce development in the area of HIV and substance use disorders. Vietnam is experiencing a severe HIV epidemic due, in large part, to the persistent problem of injection drug use. While heroin use is highly prevalent throughout Vietnam, there is evidence of increasing amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use in the southern part of Vietnam, particularly among sex workers. The VH-ATTC will build on a tremendous amount of training and advocacy work conducted by currently being done by NGOs, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The VH-ATTC will draw upon the expertise of ATTC leaders in the U.S. to develop numerous educational curricula and to train Vietnamese professionals in evidence-based HIV and substance use disorder services.   

Conferences will be conducted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, the largest cities in Vietnam. Broad dissemination of evidence-based information, however, will reach many regions in Vietnam.  One method for rapidly disseminating the information from the V-ATTC, will be by creating partnerships with other training groups, include the government Ministries, WHO and UNODC.  Direct and indirect recipients of the training and technical assistance will include: clinical staff at the HMU, SUD counselors (social workers, peer counselors, case managers), medical professionals providing medication-based treatments (physicians, nurses, and pharmacists), primary care staff in HIV treatment settings, and associations focused on youth and women. Training and educational materials will be congruent with Vietnamese cultures such as that of the Kinhs, Hmong, and ethnic minorities.

Date: 8/23/2011

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