This is a continuing activity from FY07. The narrative references to targets and budgets have been

updated. The only other changes to the activity since approval in the FY07 COP are:

• This continuing activity is the combined effort of the UNAIDS and Vietnam Ministry of Defense (MOD)

activities from previous years. The UNAIDS activity 9477.07 was requested to be reprogrammed to merge

with the MOD activity 9478.07, to follow similar reprogramming that was recently applied for FY06.

Reprogramming was requested to ensure timely implementation of activities by funding MOD directly and to

save overhead costs. Since FY06, UNAIDS and MOD other prevention activities have merged to reflect

MOD as the prime partner.

• Along with AB information, this activity will continue to support prevention interventions for correct and

consistent use of condoms. In FY08, the combined interventions across AB and C will be sustained at five

existing Military Regions and expand to two Military Regions, targeting new recruits and troops from all

branches of service. Geographic coverage will be expanded to include troops along the borders of China,

Laos, Cambodia, and the northern coast. An estimated 43,000 troops will be reached and 4000 trainers

trained to conduct combined AB and OP effort.

• A new prevention component will be integrated in this activity and includes the following elements:

-Establishment of mobile prevention units to reach troops stationed along the borders of China, Laos and

Cambodia

-MOD will make available condoms at MOD healthcare clinics, where services are available to military and

civilian population. Approximately 15 sites will be established.

-A total of 650 peer educators will be trained to target 8,000 military personnel , including members of the

Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Border Guard

• In order to address exposure and susceptibility to substance abuse, FY08 has designed activities to

reiterate MOD's policy and guidelines on alcohol abuse and other illegal substances, highlighting risks for

HIV infection and promoting non-risky behavior

• Significant progress in the activity includes over 25,000 troops reached since 2005, and the incorporation

of message to promote a better understanding of correct and consistent use of condoms in FY06.

FY07 Activity Narrative:

This activity is a continuing collaboration between US Pacific Command (PACOM), Center of Excellence

(COE) and the Vietnam Ministry of Defense (MOD) to support prevention interventions across all areas of

abstinence and be faithful and other prevention for members of the uniformed services. PEPFAR will

support the MOD to train 300 peer educators to reach 15,000 new recruits and 80,000 upstream service

members. FY07 programs offer a comprehensive ABC approach to HIV prevention. Specific AB

components are described in the complementary MOD AB narrative.

Through the PACOM/COE partnership with the MOD, PEPFAR will fund sustainable peer education in

support of comprehensive ABC prevention programs for new recruits, service personnel and their family

members. FY07 peer education components include development of training and educational materials in

close cooperation with other PEPFAR partners, training of trainers (TOT), recruitment and training of 300

peer educators, and community based peer outreach activities for uniformed service members. These

behavior change tools will address gender through male norms and behaviors that lead to risk for HIV

infection. Peer education activities will extend beyond improved knowledge or awareness of HIV to provide

individuals with motivation and skills to adopt safer behaviors in the context of youth, high mobility, family

separation and easy access to commercial sex. Through improved commitment to HIV prevention (DOD

Policy/System Strengthening), MOD will support appropriate correct and consistent condom use to promote

HIV prevention.

This is a continuing activity from FY07. The narrative references to targets and budgets have been

updated. The only other changes to the activity since approval in the FY07 COP are:

• Due to delay in implementation, as well as unanticipated needs at Ministry of Defense's (MOD) sites,

targets and budgets are adjusted to reflect standardized FY08 reporting timeline and higher site preparation

costs.

• Support for six existing clinics with the following: improve infrastructure, enhance services and provision of

technical assistance to meet Ministry of Health's (MOH) counseling and testing requirements and protocols.

• Support for implementation, including activity design, management, monitoring and evaluation as well as

linking and referral to care and treatment services.

• Procurement of test kits and consumables.

FY07 Activity Narrative:

This activity is a continuation of program activities from the previous year with the Vietnam Ministry of

Defense (MOD). Collaborating with the US Pacific Command (PACOM) Center of Excellence (COE), the

MOD will continue to support four existing CT sites established in FY06 and establish four additional CT

sites in FY07. This effort will include training for 150 healthcare professionals to ensure opt-out CT will be

available to 25,000 individuals at eight MOD CT centers.

In FY07 PEPFAR will continue to support CT activities at the Military Institute for Hygiene and

Epidemiology, Military Hospitals 103 (Hanoi), 175 (Ho Chi Minh City) and Military Zone 9's Preventive

Medicine Center (Can Tho). In FY07, this activity will expand to four new sites at Military Hospitals 121

(Can Tho City), 17 (Danang) and Preventive Medicine Centers (PMC) for Military Zones 2, 3 and 5 covering

Vietnam's northern and central provinces. Other components of this activity will ensure: training and

technical support for health care providers; site renovation; a strong client referral system; and recording

and reporting of confidential test results to COE. Training provided will also enhance general knowledge

about legal rights for those getting testes and for PLWHA, as articulated in the new HIV/AIDS Law and the

national guideline established for CT activities to reduce stigma and discrimination. The network of CT

centers will be linked to MOD's treatment sites at military hospitals. The MOD is currently providing test kits

to these sites and will continue to ensure that these sites are stocked.

Expanding CT activities to additional Military Hospitals and PMCs will also strengthen the referral network

and allow more people to enroll in treatment.

This is a continuing activity from FY07. This activity represents the ongoing collaboration between DOD, the

U.S. Pacific Command's Center of Excellence, and Vietnam's Ministry of Defense (MOD) to promote and

develop HIV/AIDS-related policies in the military context. The key populations being targeted are senior

military policymakers and educators. The commitment of senior military leaders to address HIV/AIDS is

essential for meaningful policy and system-level changes to benefit members of the Vietnamese military

community and civilian populations served by the MOD. All activity components have been designed to

promote policies that will strengthen the Vietnam People's Army's (VPA) capacity to address the specific

needs of the military community and the civilian population it serves.

In FY06, DOD and MOD began collaborating to address general HIV/AIDS awareness and HIV/AIDS-

related policies within the military. That year, over 400 commanding officers in the VPA participated in

awareness-raising events. This activity was continued in FY07, engaging a similar number of commanding

officers. As a result, the commanders have increasingly recognized the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness,

as demonstrated by incorporating HIV/AIDS information into all training activities for their troops.

In FY08, MOD, with PEPFAR support, will organize five workshops to promote an educational framework

that integrates HIV/AIDS information into the standard curriculums for all military academic and training

institutions. The curriculum on HIV/AIDS policy, developed by Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School

of Government, will also be incorporated by MOD for these trainings. MOD will select 350 policymakers and

educators from various military zones and service branches throughout the country to participate. This

activity aims to systematize the MOD's commitment to raising the military community's awareness,

knowledge, and overall understanding about HIV/AIDS and its potential impact on the military. This

workshop will present policies and promote practices that relate to reducing stigma and discrimination within

the military community. The workshop also will address the issue of male norms associated with high-risk

sexual behavior. Specifically, the workshop will highlight the association between alcohol use and high-risk

sexual behavior, reiterating and further justifying MOD's new policy on no alcohol use during working hours.

In addition, PEPFAR will continue support for two workshops targeting senior-level military leadership to

address HIV/AIDS-related issues. One workshop is designed to foster a greater commitment to HIV/AIDS

policies among senior-level MOD leadership. This workshop will advocate for MOD leadership to develop

closer linkages with regional and international military medicine and HIV activities, including the sharing of

MOD experiences about HIV policies. Such exchanges will promote greater scrutiny of MOD policies and

potentially generate new ideas for strengthening policy and practice.

The second workshop, continued from FY07, aims to promote a national-level dialogue between MOD

senior military leadership and the government of Vietnam's (GVN) senior civilian leadership. The use of

dialogues and workshop formats are expected to promote participation and mobilization from within the

military community. One of these dialogues will address HIV as a national security issue, including its

potential impact on the nation. It is expected that through this and related "dialogues," commitment from

senior military and civilian sector leaders will increase. A further expected outcome of the dialogues will be

an increased understanding and acceptance of prevention and care and treatment activities as priority

military policy issues.

As a component of this activity, MOD will be provided with technical assistance from various PEPFAR

partners to develop technically-sound HIV-related policies. MOD also will receive technical assistance to

develop HIV-related institutional capacity, centered on heightening senior military leaders' awareness on

ways they can contribute to fighting the epidemic. Through workshop and "dialogue" formats a total of 600

senior military policy makers will be trained in HIV-related policy development. An additional 250 will be

trained in enhancing institutional capacity and 600 will be trained on how they can contribute to the

reduction of stigma and discrimination in a military context.

This activity will forge linkages with other DOD activities, and will strengthen the support network within both

the military health care system and the civilian health care system, resulting in greater service for the

populations they serve. These networks and linkages will be critical as MOD expands its HIV/AIDS program

in FY08 and beyond. Furthermore, this activity addresses capacity building and international cooperation,

identified as priority objectives of Vietnam's National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS Prevention for 2004-2010.