During the week of 8-12 December 2009, the IPU Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS held a study visit to Viet Nam and a seminar for the parliaments of the region. In keeping with its mission statement, the Advisory Group was keen to gather practical details about the control of the epidemic in the country and the way the National Assembly had been instrumental in the response. It sought to identify lessons that might be helpful for the parliaments of other countries facing similar challenges. The field visit included meetings with the National Assembly’s Social Affairs Committee, the Deputy Minister of Health, and visits to hospitals, community centres and methadone substitution facilities. The meetings and visits were organized by the National Assembly of Viet Nam, the Ministry of Health and UNAIDS.
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The Advisory Group commended the work of the National Assembly on the passing of the HIV/AIDS Law and applauded its efforts to ensure that the provisions of the HIV/AIDS Law were not contradicted by the existing legal acts. The Advisory Group recommended that members of the National Assembly should be seen to do more to engage with their constituencies on HIV and AIDS, and take a stronger and more visible stand in speaking openly about the disease and pushing back the forces of stigma. A complete list of findings and recommendations is set out in a report which will be submitted to the IPU governing bodies during the 122nd IPU Assembly in Bangkok.
The two-day regional training seminar for the parliaments of the IPU Asia-Pacific Group took place after the study visit. It was hosted by the National Assembly of Viet Nam under the direct supervision of the Deputy Speaker, Ms. Tong Thi Phong. The event provided the participants with an opportunity to discuss the role of parliaments in dealing with HIV in accordance with ethical norms and human rights standards. Within this broad topic, the participants focused on responses that address HIV prevalence among populations at higher risk from HIV, including sex workers and injecting drug users. The parliamentarians also heard presentations on trade rules and intellectual property laws and their effects on drug prices, which triggered a lively discussion around the impediments to wider access to antiretroviral treatment.
At the end of the seminar the participants adopted a list of recommendations. In general terms it was agreed that parliaments and their committees that deal with HIV and AIDS should avail themselves fully of the powers at their disposal. On that basis, parliaments of the region should focus on reform of HIV and AIDS legislation on harm reduction among drug users and sex workers, and stigma and discrimination issues where they were not sufficiently attuned to an effective and compassionate response. The IPU was urged to organize regular meetings to review legislation and policies on the prevention and control of HIV and AIDS with the aim of promoting effective implementation of such legislation.
