New program in Vietnam to provide youth with HIV/AIDS education

The Danish International Development Agency in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and the Voice of Vietnam radio on Wednesday launched a radio program that aims to educate young people in the country about HIV/AIDS, the Vietnam News Brief Service reports (Vietnam News Brief Service, 1/25).

The long-term goal of the program is to promote increased access to and improve the quality of reproductive health services.

The program will be targeted to youth in the country and will focus on changing behavior to prevent HIV transmission, according to the Saigon Times Daily (Trung, Saigon Times Daily, 1/24).

The program -- which will be broadcast in 64 provinces and cities in Vietnam and in several ethnic languages -- will run as a serialized soap opera that includes 104 episodes.

It will be funded with a $770,000 grant from DANIDA (Vietnam News Brief Service, 1/25). DANIDA earlier collaborated with VOV on a call-in radio program, called "Window of Love," that focused on reproductive health education.

The program was positively received among youth in the country, according to the Times Daily.

Lack of awareness and understanding about HIV are contributing to stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive people in the country, the Times Daily reports.

Vietnamese media outlets -- including radio, television, newspapers and films -- in recent years have sponsored campaigns aimed providing education about HIV/AIDS.

The DANIDA project will end in December 2009, the Times Daily reports (Saigon Times Daily, 1/24).