On September 20, Dien Bien became Vietnam’s fourth province to authorize local funding for social health insurance (SHI) premiums and antiretroviral therapy (ART) copayment costs for its residents. USAID’s Sustainable HIV Response from Technical Assistance Project (SHIFT) worked with the province’s health authorities to estimate the costs involved, develop a provincial proposal, and navigate the numerous processes involved in securing a provincial decision. Prior to this, SHIFT has also worked with Ho Chi Minh City, Nghe An and Bac Giang provinces to attain local funding for SHI. So What? As donor funding for HIV services declines, this decision will ensure that more than 750 HIV patients who were previously not covered by SHI will now receive treatment. This milestone is particularly noteworthy given that Dien Bien is a poor, rural province with numerous competing demands on its budget.
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