HIV treatment services in Vietnam are mainly provided at outpatient clinics (OPC), which are usually funded by international donors. They are located either in district health centers or in hospital settings, but they are not well integrated into the public health system. As external funding phases out, these clinics must be integrated into state facilities and the social health insurance (SHI) system.

In December 2017, even though Dong Nai Province had been in the integration process for more than a year, none of the province’s eight HIV/AIDS treatment facilities had SHI contracts. To help the province speed up this process, USAID’s Health Finance and Governance (HFG) activity started providing technical assistance in late October 2017, which included study tours to learn from other provinces’ success. To date, three of the province’s HIV/AIDS treatment facilities have signed SHI contracts and these facilities have received SHI reimbursement for 460 persons living with HIV.  

So What? With USAID’s support, the province now has a clear pathway for integrating their outpatient clinics and is on its way to ensure that all remaining facilities sign SHI contracts and receive reimbursement for services by August 2018.