The HIV epidemic in Viet Nam is still in a concentrated stage; prevalence in the general population is estimated at .53%, with the highest seroprevalence among key populations at higher risk, namely injecting drugs users, female sex workers and men who have sex with men. And while the epidemic has begun to stabilize, certain trends are increasing. People living with HIV are getting younger and heterosexual transmission is becoming more significant. In its continued effort to address such challenges, the government of Viet Nam is collaborating with national and international organizations to strengthen the national HIV response in all sectors.

In 2006, UNESCO was one of eleven UN agencies to establish the Joint UN Team on HIV and has since worked closely with the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), UNAIDS, UNFPA and UNICEF as part of a multi-agency HIV Education Subgroup.

To mainstream HIV/AIDS education, UNESCO, together with the UN HIV Education Subgroup, is supporting MOET efforts in the following areas:

• Strengthening MOET capacity to lead a coordinated HIV response across all education sub-sectors by means of strengthened inter-departmental coordination and preparation of a comprehensive education sector strategy on HIV – through establishment of MOET’s Inter-departmental Committee on HIV & AIDS (ICHA)
• Addressing issues of stigma and discrimination in policies and education programmes through Community Learning Centres
• Developing and piloting secondary school curricular and extra-curricular activities on reproductive health and HIV prevention education
• Supporting MOET in the development of an effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, which encompasses a set of indicators to monitor Viet Nam’s education sector HIV response