Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on provision of HIV/AIDS services for key populations

The COVID‐19 pandemic has aggravated the obstacles for HIV/AIDS programs in limited‐resource countries like Vietnam to achieve the HIV/AIDS‐related Sustainable Development target. The paper aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the provision of HIV/AIDS services—a pathway to achieving universal health coverage for key populations (KPs). Employing mix‐methods, we conducted a desk study, one focus group discussion, and ten in‐depth interviews with participants from the Ministry of Health, Provincial Centres for Disease Control, and HIV/AIDS‐related facilities. The results showed the reduced coverage of KPs with access to prevention (i.e., harm‐reduction services, counselling), testing, and treatment services (i.e., antiretroviral therapy, isoniazid preventive therapy). It also showed the reduced coverage of quality essential services, mainly in skipping consultation and testing, delaying un‐emergency services, and redirecting KPs to non‐HIV‐specialised facilities. There was a gap in providing support for mental health, violence/abuse, and reproductive health. Financial risk protection for KPs was reduced due to uncertain local budget allocation; decreasing their ability to pay for HIV/AIDS‐related services and social health insurance premiums; and increased out‐of‐pocket payments to comply with the COVID‐19 control measures. This paper provides recommendations for strategic planning to ensure universal health coverage for KPs in the post COVID‐19 era, especially for limited‐resource countries like Vietnam.