Dr. Hang Nguyen is AHF Vietnam’s Country Program Director. Her story is next in our “I Am AHF” series featuring remarkable staff, clients, and partners who are doing what’s right to save lives everyday.
I am Hang, a pediatrician with a Master’s degree in Public Health specializing in infectious diseases and environmental health, with more than 20 years of experience in HIV/AIDS programs. Over the years, I have served as a medical doctor, community health counselor, program officer, manager, and director, working with both government and international organizations.
When I was a medical student, I dreamed of working for an international NGO because I wanted to see and help people from different parts of my country and around the world. To pursue this dream, I applied for a government-funded scholarship and spent two years at Monash University in Australia earning my Master’s degree.
After returning to Vietnam, I landed my first job with World Vision International and later worked with the USAID-funded Policy Project before joining AHF.
I have had a long journey with AHF—19 years filled with learning, challenges, and growth. I still remember my first days. As the Vietnam program had just launched, it was only me in the office. I wore many hats—program officer, finance officer, marketing and advocacy officer, and more—learning to manage all aspects of a growing program.
Today, as AHF Vietnam’s Country Program Director, I lead a team of 13 people managing a program that spans more than 100 project sites across health facilities and prisons in 17 provinces. We support care and treatment for over 44,000 clients, provide HIV testing for 100,000 people annually, and link thousands of those diagnosed with HIV to care.
HIV/AIDS can be treated. When we communicate with communities without fear—without presenting HIV as a death sentence—we reduce stigma and discrimination, making it easier to fight HIV/AIDS effectively.
AHF’s mission—to save lives regardless of a person’s ability to pay—resonates deeply with me. I was born into a poor family in the countryside of Vietnam and experienced firsthand the struggles of accessing healthcare. My mother often told me how I nearly died as a child because my family could not afford hospital care. That experience inspired me to become a doctor, and now I am proud to work for AHF, supporting and saving people living with HIV.
I will never forget a story from the first ARV clinic we opened in Hai Phong City, one of the cities with the highest HIV prevalence. A client named Hung was released from prison in a very weak condition. His parents had rejected him because he had been an injecting drug user, so his girlfriend brought him to our support site. I gently spoke with him, encouraging him to stop using heroin and start ARV treatment. He cried and told me he had lost everything except his girlfriend. I comforted him and said, “Start over, and your future will be bright.”
Months later, I visited the site again and saw a man smiling at me. At first, I did not recognize him, but then he said, “Hello, sister, I am Hung. You don’t remember me, right?” I realized he was the same client. He told me, “Sister Hang, I was reborn by you.” Seeing him healthy and thriving after all this time was one of the happiest moments of my life.
