The Ministry of Health issued a circular in 2017 to facilitate management of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that are procured using the SHI fund, with  the first ARV drugs procured through SHI planned for early 2019. To support this initiative, USAID, through its Sustainable Financing for HIV and Health Financing and Governance project, and the Vietnam Administration of HIV Control (VAAC), supported Vietnam Social Security (VSS) to develop guidelines on SHI implementation for PLHIV and facilitated consensus from relevant agencies.  On December 5, VSS released these much needed guidelines to its central level agencies and to the Provincial Social Security on: (1) the implementation of centralized procurement; (2) payment of ARV drugs from the SHI fund; and (3) the provision of an ARV copayment subsidy for PLHIV.

So What? These VSS guidelines further the government’s ability to make Vietnam’s national HIV response more sustainable and less reliant on donors.