Launching workshop “Screen, Treat and Retain meth-using people with OUD and MMT clinics in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City (STAR-OM)”

On the morning of October 29, 2020, at the International Hall of Hanoi Medical University, the Center for Training and Research on the use of quality – HIV organized a seminar to launch the research “Screen, Treat and Retain meth-using people with OUD and MMT clinics in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City (STAR-OM)”.

The use and abuse of synthetic amphetamine group (ATS), especially methamphetamine tends to increase and become the most concerned public health issue in Southeast Asia, including Viet Nam. Epidemic reports of opioid and methamphetamine use in the US as well as in low- and middle-income countries indicate a need to devise optimal strategies to solve problems. On that basis, the group study from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the United States, Hanoi Medical University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy were approved by the National Institute On Drug Abuse (NIDA) belongs to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded and deployed in Vietnam within 05 years, from June 2020 to June 2025.

Attending the seminar were representatives from international agencies, organizations such as: CDC, UNAIDS, UNODC; methadone clinics as well as the project researchers at the University of California, Hanoi Medical University and the University. Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City.

Speaking at the seminar, Prof. Dr. Ta Thanh Van – Chairman of the Council of Hanoi Medical University emphasized that the pride of Hanoi Medical University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy has real ability, confidence to run this project. In addition, he also thanked foreign and domestic experts for cooperating in researching.

Deputy Director of Viet Nam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control (VAAC) – Dr. Hoang Dinh Canh is delighted that Vietnam has received and implemented a massive, highly scientific and practical research despite many difficulties but it will be a practical evidence to help policy makers come up with appropriate policies in drug and substance abuse prevention in recent years.

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Le Minh Giang – The main researcher of the project in Vietnam reports on the research overview and gives some of the intervention model, research object, research process, implementation plan as well as the role of research groups. Hopefully, in the coming time, we will receive enthusiastic support from all stakeholders, creating favorable conditions for the research to take place smoothly and achieve high results.

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