HIV vulnerability refers to the factors that make it more likely that an individual or group will be infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Reducing HIV vulnerability thus often entails the improvement of structural elements in an individual’s context or environment. Promoting correct knowledge about HIV and STIs is the easiest part, and many organizations focus on education-based interventions. It has been widely recognized, however, that factors like gender (i.e. being a woman or a man, being homosexual or heterosexual), poverty or access to education have an equally important influence on whether an individual or group might be at risk of HIV. HIV/AIDS is therefore increasingly linked to broader development objectives, and is generally accepted to be a social development issue as much as a medical problem.
This literature review seeks to inform effective, evidence-based planning for children vulnerable to HIV/AIDS in Vietnam. It is divided into three parts. The first section reviews studies on risk and risk behaviors in Vietnam (often not specifically focusing on children), including injecting drug use and various categories of unprotected sex. The second part focuses on particular groups of children and their vulnerability (often not dealing directly with HIV/AIDS), such as children living or working on the street, children involved in sex work, and children in institutions. The third part centers on general factors causing HIV vulnerability, looking at factors like educational status, poverty, and mobility, that make children and adolescents more likely to become exposed to HIV. A concluding section outlines planned and ongoing research on child vulnerability in Vietnam, and emphasizes critical gaps in the current literature.
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