Up to 90 people in Minh Luong Commune, Van Ban District, Lao Cai Province, were recorded as living with HIV/AIDS by late September this year.
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| Gold fever has caused heavy pollution in Minh Luong Commune |
According to unofficial statistics from the district’s Preventive Medicine Centre, among those, 48 died of AIDS, including several young couples, leaving orphaned children behind.
Nguyen Van Nghia, Director of the district Health Department, said the real number of people living with HIV/AIDS maybe much higher than 90 because many at-risk residents have not yet been provided with any tests, particularly women of child bearing age.
Ten years ago, Minh Luong became famous after a gold rush gripped the area. People from different localities rushed to the commune, hoping to transform their lives. With the incomers came drugs, and soon those managing the gold digs were foisting drugs on their local hired workers, making them entirely dependent on their jobs and disrupting the previously quiet life in the 5,000 commune population
In 2001, Minh Luong had no recognised drug addicts, but it witnessed up to 90 HIV/AIDS cases between 2007 and 2010, the high point of the gold prospecting.
Currently, 27 families in the commune have children whose both parents died of HIV/AIDS. Headmaster of the Minh Luong Primary School An Van Tuan said that during this school year the school was teaching 51 orphans. However, to date, the commune has only detected one child infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission.
Every afternoon, Ha Thi Gioi (12 years old), Ha Thi Hanh (10 years old) and Ha Duc Manh (seven years old) from Minh Thuong 3 Village can be found looking at the wedding picture of their dead parents. On May 7, their father died of AIDS and just a day later, their mother also died of the disease.
Despite great efforts, HIV/AIDS still remains endemic in Minh Luong. Gold exploitation may have been banned, but HIV/AIDS cases continue to rise annually.