Vietnam has been conducting HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) integrated bio-behavioral surveillance surveys on men who have sex with men (MSM) as well as other key populations since 2005. Although HIV prevalence in the Vietnamese general population remains below 1%, it is expected to be much higher among MSM.Data on HIV prevalence and sexual and drug use behaviors were collected from MSM in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in 2006 (n = 397), 2009 (n = 399) and 2013 (n = 350) using respondent-driven sampling. Eligible participants were males, aged ≥15 years who reported having manual, oral, or anal sexual activity with males in the past year and lived, worked or socialized in HCMC.HIV seroprevalence among MSM was 5.8% in 2006, 16.1% in 2009 and 12.1% in 2013 and prevalence of at least one STI (syphilis, gonorrhea and/or chlamydia infection) was 11.4% in 2006 and 15.6% in 2009 (no data for 2013). Significant, but small, increasing trends were found for MSM who reported ever testing and receiving results for HIV and for HIV prevalence. No significant changes for condom use, injecting and non-injecting drug use, or and receipt of free condoms were observed.Although a small percentage of MSM reported injecting drugs, HIV was positively associated with ever injecting drugs. Programs targeting MSM should include screening and treatment for injection drug use to most effectively control the HIV/AIDS epidemic among MSM in HCMC.

AIMS: Estimated population sizes of key populations are critical for resource allocation as well as for monitoring program performance to prevent HIV infection. In 2018, using official records we recruited and conducted a brief survey among People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) to estimate the population size of People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in Son La Province, Vietnam. METHODS: In Son La, the authorities develop and maintain a master list of individuals who are suspected of using drugs. The list is updated quarterly and is used to monitor the drug use situation in the province. The list, however, does not distinguish injecting from non-injecting drug users. Individual lists from six districts, 24 communes, and 96 hamlets were selected from among those from 12 districts, 204 communes, and 3335 hamlets in the whole province. After reviewing the lists with the hamlet health workers, based on the length of the lists, a minimum of 20% of the total or five drug users in any hamlet with fewer than 25 PWUD were randomly selected for a brief assessment. In addition to basic demographics, the assessment included any drug use in the last 3 months, injection drug use in the last 3 months, and the last time injected. RESULTS: A total of 250 PWUD were interviewed by hamlet health workers. The total number of PWID across all 12 districts in Son La was estimated at 4475 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 3379-5570] and the corresponding proportion of PWID among PWUD was 48.4% (95% CI: 36.6-60.4). CONCLUSION: The exercise provided an estimated number of PWID in Son La. For planning HIV prevention and care service needs among PWID, additional studies using different methods are needed to validate and improve the population size of PWID in the province of Son La.

To share Vietnam’s experiences piloting the integration of viral load (VL) testing into the national HIV sentinel surveillance (HSS) system to better understand the level of HIV viral transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID).