The goal of the HPI program is to collaborate with the government of Vietnam (GVN), CSOs and other stakeholders to 1) adopt and implement HIV policies, plans and programs based on international best practices; 2) strengthen and support the public sector, CSOs and networks to assume leadership in the policy process; 3) develop timely and accurate data for evidence-based decision making. Geographic coverage will be at the national level and in the 9 PEPAR-focus provinces: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Dien Bien, Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Lao Cai and An Giang. In COP 12, HPI will focus on improving the HIV legal and policy framework, providing technical assistance (TA) to GVN on data use for decision-making, and working with other partners to create and maintain favorable legal and policy environments to expand key HIV prevention interventions. HPIs work is becoming more cost-effective by focusing on key legal and policy developments, use of data and selected interventions that are most feasible to have the greatest impact on HIV programs. HPI also will continue to coordinate efforts with GVN and other stakeholders to achieve key legal, policy and programmatic objectives. By strengthening the capacity of local partners, HPI is transitioning policy advocacy and policy development to Vietnamese CSOs and other stakeholders. Key interventions developed under HPI have been successfully turned over to the Global Fund and provincial HIV Centers. HPI will continue to monitor and evaluate its activities through its approved Performance Monitoring Plan, updated to reflect changing project activities. No vehicles have been purchased for this project.

In COP 12, HPI will work closely with the PEPFAR SI team, the Vietnam Administration on HIV/AIDs Control (VAAC), FHI, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), and Pasteur Institutes to implement the data use for decision-making project (DDM) to build capacity for government of Vietnam (GVN) agencies with a focus on: 1) HIV program costing analysis and evaluation; 2) program data review and triangulation for prevention, care and treatment; 3) data use communication at different levels; 4) advocacy for evidence-based strategic planning; and 5) prioritized analysis for programming with limited HIV resources at provincial and national levels. In collaboration with Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration (HCMA) the DDM component will be incorporated as part of strategic planning training for GVN leaders. With FHI, HPI will routinely provide onsite mentoring and coaching to Provincial AIDS Committees (PACs) and DDM officers, as well as other technical assistance (TA) to PACs on strategic provincial HIV planning. HPI will work with PEPFAR SI, VAAC and PACs to carry out the modeling activities of the Analysis and Advocacy project in connection with DDM, focusing on translating the results of studies and model applications into appropriate policies and programs, and advocating for the use of available data to formulate appropriate responses to and resource allocation for HIV. At national level, HPI will collaborate with VAAC and other international donors to implement the costing study and analysis, and advocate for the use of available data to formulate appropriate responses and resource allocation for HIV. HPI will repeat the second round of the Sexual Partner (SP) of IDUs survey in selected PEPFAR provinces to gather information after 2 years of interventions. In triangulation with routine progress data, the survey will provide trend data on HIV status, drug use of IDUs (client self-reported), and changes in condom use according to a stages-of-change model. The data will be used to inform SP interventions, as well as add-in to the pool of HIV surveillance data in Vietnam, which lacks data.

In COP 12, HPI will continue to work with relevant government and Party bodies and other stakeholders to address policy barriers in the areas of HIV, drug use and sex work, as well as on the role of civil society in the HIV response. Important legal documents include:-HIV/AIDS and Drug Control: A new, coherent law on drug addiction treatment reducing emphasis on and hastening the closure of drug detention centers (06 centers) and substitution of a system of voluntary, evidence- and community-based substance abuse treatment, including methadone treatment and other modalities. -HIV/AIDS and Sex Work: An inter-ministerial circular on condom provision and conversion of the existing ordinance on prostitution control to a new law on sex work that shifts the focus from arrest and confinement of sex workers to harm reduction.-Civil societys role in the HIV response: Revisions to the Budget Law and related legal documents essential to enabling CSOs to assume an increased role in HIV-service provision and policy advocacy/policy development in the context of declining international donor support. HPI also will advocate for a revision of the tax law, scheduled to be developed in 2012-2013, to provide tax benefits to CSOs employing PLHIV. HPI will advance these policy objectives by working on the development and improvement of key legal documents, and coordinating activities and with partners to develop a sustainable approach to policy development. HPI will mobilize data from the Data Use for Decision-Making (DDM) program and Analysis to Advocacy program to develop key policy documents. HPI will continue journalists training, policy advocacy seminars jointly sponsored by HPI and the Party Central Commission on Popularization and Education, and training for the Provincial Peoples, Peoples Councils and National Assembly Social Affairs Committee, and will integrate HIV/AIDS into curriculum modules for central Academy, sub-Academies, and Provincial Party Schools. In COP 12, policy briefs on issues identifying needed changes in legal documents and policies on drug control, sex work, and CSOs roles, and national and regional policy dialogue meetings will be developed. Finally, the project will strengthen the capacity of selected Vietnamese partners in policy advocacy (e.g. NGOs, CSOs, and HIV/AIDS Associations) to gradually increase their roles in policy advocacy.

Since its first year, HPI has helped to design and implement key HIV prevention interventions for female sexual partners (SPs) of IDUs, and PLHIV (Positive Prevention, or PP), as well as 100% Condom Use Program (CUP). The SP interventions in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been turned over to Global Fund Round 9 implementers. The PP interventions have been evaluated and fully documented by HPI, including evaluation reports identifying the best PP delivery model, replication manual and behavior change communication materials. In COP 12, HPI will conduct regional meetings and workshops to disseminate the PP replication materials and work with Vietnamese partners and stakeholders to implement and scale-up the most effective PP interventions. Since year 1 of the project, HPI collaborated with provincial authorities, provincial HIV associations, PEPFAR partners and other stakeholders to develop and implement 100% CUP for entertainment establishment (EE)-based sex workers and their clients, and EE owners in An Giang. In COP 11, the 100% CUP was expanded to 2 additional provinces. In COP 12, HPI will continue to support the 100% CUP in the 2 expansion provinces through technical assistance (TA) to the implementing partners, and organize regional and provincial dissemination meetings and workshops to promote further expansion and adaptation of 100% CUP in other provinces with the greatest need and potential to successfully implement such programs. These efforts will be coordinated with HPIs work under health systems strengthening budget code for development of an improved legal and policy framework for 100% CUP and other condom provision strategies.

In COP 12, HPI will carry out a range of policy advocacy activities with the objective of advancing the implementation and scale-up of comprehensive HIV prevention and drug control programs based on a harm-reduction approach. Such programs include creating an enabling environment for needles and syringes (N/S) and condom provision for IDUs and their sexual partners, as well as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and other substitution treatment, and other voluntary, community-based substance abuse treatment. Policy advocacy activities will continue HPIs use of various strategies including seminars and policy dialogues for government and Party leaders at the central and provincial level, training for journalists, integrated HIV curricula delivered to provincial and district leaders at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy for Politics and Administration (HCMA), the regional sub-Academies, and the Provincial Party Schools. In these activities, HPI will continue its collaborations with HCMA and Party Central Commission on Popularization and Education, as well as the Vietnam Administration on HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC), Provincial HIV/AIDS Committees (PACs), and Vietnamese subcontractors including PHAD. In its harm-reduction advocacy work, HPI will coordinate closely with PEPFAR-implementing partners and other stakeholders to obtain the most up-to-date information and data on HIV epidemiology among MARPs, as well as the program implementation, coverage, outcomes and challenges. HPIs Date Use for Decision Making (DDM) program also will work to ensure inclusion and scale-up of harm-reduction programs in the provincial HIV action plans.