TG persons bear a disproportionate burden of HIV infection as stigma, discrimination, and lack of legal protection remain major barriers for TG persons to access the health services they need. To address this, USAID’s Healthy Markets project has been working closely with the Vietnam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control to develop national TG guidelines that focus on offering gender-affirming healthcare and other HIV/AIDS related services by integrating evidence-based content, leveraging technical inputs from TG health care leaders in Thailand, and facilitating TG community leadership and input in the design process. Gender-affirming healthcare refers to counseling, care and procedures that help align a person's body with their gender identity, including hormone therapy and chest reconstruction surgery. It also includes counseling TG women on potential reactions between feminizing hormones and PrEP*. This is critical as research shows that in places where TG-friendly services are not specifically offered, TG people’s participation in HIV testing and PrEP services has been limited. On October 8, the TG guidelines were formally approved, signed and sent to provinces for implementation.
So What? The national TG guidelines which were developed on the basis of international best practices and in close consultation and collaboration with the TG community marked a significant milestone in advancing equitable HIV and health services for this marginalized group in Vietnam. (*Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) is a game-changing preventive medication that can reduce the risk of HIV infection by more than 92 percent, if taken daily, as part of a combination HIV prevention strategy.)