Catholic Relief Services (CRS) VietNam

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and disadvantaged outside the country. CRS assists persons on the basis of need, not creed, race, or nationality. The organization is recognized as a key provider of HIV/AIDS prevention and care services worldwide with more than 110 projects in 50 developing countries. CRS’ HIV/AIDS programming in Vietnam began in 2004.

CRS/Vietnam supports governmental and non-governmental partners to develop and provide services which are comprehensive, focused on the whole person/family, and implemented with linkages to the community. Our target populations are:

• People living with HIV/AIDS, with a special focus on those affected by drug use
• Drug users
• Those at risk of drug use and/or HIV-infection

PROJECTS

I.         REINTEGRATION SUPPORT FOR REHABILITATED RESIDENTS: A PILOT

DURATION AND LOCATION OF THE PROJECT
Lang Son City, Lang Son Province. Project activities began in January 2006 and are planned until October 2007. CRS and partners will extend the project given need and funding.

PROJECT PARTNERS

• Center for Community Health and Development (COHED)
• Lang Son Provincial AIDS Committee of the Lang Son Health Services
• Drug Rehabilitation (06) Center of Lang Son Province
• Clients, community partners, families

OVERALL GOAL
To reduce HIV transmission among injecting drug users and their partners

IMMEDIATE GOAL
To pilot a voluntary, community-based drug recovery program (day center) serving drug users, their families and the community

REASONING
More than half (57%) of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Vietnam are injecting drug users (IDUs), and roughly 33% of IDUs are infected with HIV/AIDS. The Vietnamese Government strategy for correcting the illegal behaviors of drug use and sex work is to accommodate individuals in rehabilitation centers, called 05 centers for females and 06 centers for males. Methadone is illegal and therefore detoxification and maintenance are done without this substitution therapy.

The vast majority - over 90% - of IDUs returning to the community from 05-06 centers relapse into drug addiction, putting themselves and their sexual partners at (further) risk of HIV infection. To handle this complex situation, the government has called on organizations operating in the field of HIV/AIDS to test alternative, community-based models of addiction recovery.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

• Drug Users stay in recovery
• Drug users in Government Rehabilitation (06) Center benefit from strengthened services
• Drug users in recovery are able to contribute positively to rehabilitation services and HIV/AIDS prevention

DIRECT BENEFICIARIES

• Approximately 40 men (over one year) targeted for intensive support with recovery
• Approximately 80 family members of clients (2 family members/client)
• 15 Health Service staff at district and commune levels
• Staff of the day center (7)
• The Lang Son Rehabilitation Center and staff (30)

INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES

• 200 residents of the 06 Center
• An additional 120 family members (based on 5 members/family)
• Wider community particularly where the day center is located

PROJECT GOALS AND ACTIVITIES 
The locus of the project is a dry day center that men attend daily and voluntarily from 8 am – 4 pm. Clients, at this point all male, are accepted into the program after detoxification from both the nearby 06 center and the community. They receive monthly health check-ups, guidance on self-help group formation, counseling, income generation opportunities and vocational training. Clients play an active part in the formation of the center and are expected to one day manage it, reaching into the neighborhood with drug prevention messages.

To facilitate the transition from the 06 center to the day center, contact is made with potential clients inside the 06 center where services are also upgraded.

Listed here are the Intermediate Results and Expected Outputs of the project:

Drug users utilize a network of rehabilitation and reintegration services

• A community-based model of recovery is established
• Linkages between the day center and existing health & social services, day center, 06 Center and Family Board are created

Staff, clients and their families have demonstrated increased capacity to handle the recovery process

• Family members are positively involved in day center activities
• Capacity of day center staff to counsel, respond to relapse and adjust to new tasks is strengthened
• Clients in recovery take on increasing leadership in design and management of future activities

Improve the quality of services inside 06 Center (health, social and psychological support)

• Capacity of 06 Center staff in HIV/AIDS service provision and addiction recovery is strengthened
• The 06 center is upgraded basic health and vocational training equipment

Safe behaviors are practiced and promoted by project clients and families

• HIV education/services are available inside day center for clients and their family members
• HIV education/services are available inside 06 Center
• Clients in recovery at day center provide education to community

II.        HOC MON CONTINUUM OF CARE PROJECT

DURATION AND LOCATION OF THE PROJECT: Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh  City (HCMC). Project activities began in January 2005 and will continue, at some level, until 2010.

PROJECT PARTNERS

• Hoc Mon People’s Committee
• Hoc Mon District Health Center
• Clients, community partners, families

GOAL: People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) and their families have improved quality of life

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

• PLHA and their families increase the utilization of district health services
• PLHA and their families increase their utilization of community and home-based care services
• Communities are more accepting of PLHA and their families

DIRECT BENEFICARIES

• People Living with HIV/AIDS and injecting drug users in Hoc Mon and the surrounding districts of HCMC along with bordering provinces
• Family members of IDU and PLHA who will benefit from home based care training and education re: HIV/AIDS and relapse prevention communicated directly to them by project staff
• Civil employees at the district and commune levels who will benefit from medical and counseling training on HIV/AIDS. This number can be estimated at 350
• Men and women returning from the state-run drug rehabilitation system, some of whom will be HIV+ and some of whom will not, the latter at great risk for contracting the virus

INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES

• Community members: Hoc Mon is a district with approximately 150,000 inhabitants. Mass media will reach this entire population
• Local and international organizations and government agencies: lessons learned will be shared with these groups. Of particular interest will be those interventions that are able to engage residents returning from drug rehabilitation centers along with current drug injectors

This project supports the Hoc Mon District Health Services to respond to the needs of a growing number of people living with AIDS, including late stage AIDS patients, in the district and surrounding area. The Hoc Mon District Hospital and staff are supported with medical training, systems management, equipment, medicines and counseling guidance. Home based care and outreach teams will be established to reach all corners of the district. The project will facilitate the formation of PLHA and IDU self-help groups, providing a safe space for gathering, income generation and drug-relapse prevention services.

Stigma reduction is a crucial component to opening access to services for PLHA. Interpersonal behavior change communication to citizens at the commune level and mass media at the district level will combine to provide truthful information about HIV/AIDS and its transmission routes. The project utilizes existing social structures and mass government organizations to spread information and respond to concerns in the community.

III.      URBAN COMMUNITY BASED ADDICTION RECOVERY SUPPORT

DURATION AND LOCATION OF THE PROJECT: Thanh Cong Ward, Hanoi.
This project began in 2004 and will continue/expand depending upon need and funding.

PROJECT PARTNERS

• Thanh Cong Ward People’s Committee
• Thanh Cong Ward Police Department
• Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA)

GOAL: To provide employment opportunities for recovering drug users returning from the government-run rehabilitation center

DESCRIPTION
Conceived by the Thanh Cong Police Department and People’s Committee in response to the overwhelming drug addiction relapse rate in their community, the project provided start-up funds for a motorbike washing business to employ men returning from the government run drug rehabilitation center. The business is now self-sufficient (it is one of the only venues in the area that provides car washing) and provides excellent income for 4-6 recovering addicts at any one time. Due to space constraints, the washing venue cannot be expanded and therefore new men coming into the program are taught motorbike repair and sewing skills and then linked to employment. Activities also include awareness-raising within the community on drug use and its negative consequences and police sharing of lessons learned in their assistance to residents returning from rehabilitation.

The positive role the police have played in the conception and implementation of the project is extremely significant. Thanh Cong Police recognize drug use and abuse not merely as an illegal behavior but as a complex social problem in need of long-term, humane solutions.

For more information please contact:
Mr. Greg Auberry, Country Director, or Ms. Tran Linh Giang, Program Officer
CRS Vietnam, 27 Ly Thai To, room 342 – Hanoi - (84.4) 934-6916

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