UNAIDS Official: Prevention is urgently needed in Cambodia

Tony Lisle, UNAIDS Country Coordinator to Cambodia, delivers his remark at the 3rd National AIDS Conference on 10 September while H.E. Sok An (far left), Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Council of Ministers, looks on.

By Chhay Sophal

At Cambodia’s 3rd National AIDS Conference in Phnom Penh in September, Tony Lisle, UNAIDS Country Coordinator to Cambodia, said AIDS prevention in the country is the key to stopping new infections, and without it the country will face a crisis in treatment in the long run.

“The implications of HIV prevention failure are clear: unless we act now, treatment queues will get longer and longer and it will become more and more difficult to get anywhere near universal access to antiretroviral therapy,” Tony said in his opening remark at the three-day conference on 10-12 September. He said that, though the treatment imperative remains as strong as ever, the best way in the long run to stop people from getting AIDS is to reduce new infections “in the first place.”

Tony affirmed that the Cambodians aged 10-24 represent about 36% of the country’s population, or 4.6 million people, and need innovative prevention. He also said that the country’s vulnerable groups, such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and drug users, are at high risk and prevention must be improved. “Cambodia continues to witness serious concentrated epidemics among these populations. We are now seeing patterns of ‘double or triple risk’ behaviour; for instance MSM and sex workers who inject drugs and who also sell sex to men and women. Additionally, HIV prevention coverage for all of these populations remains unacceptably low.”

Tony said IEC, posters and billboards are not going to reach the target groups. He argued that “social and behavioural communications and sex education programming need to be relevant and innovative; only then will we be able to establish the foundation for generation of HIV-Free adults”.

The most effective way to achieve effective prevention is through the 100% condom use program. Speaking in his open remarks, H.E. Sok An, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Council of Ministers also urged promotion of the 100% condom use program.

In her speech at the Conference, Erin Soto, Mission Director of USAID/Cambodia, expressed her appreciation of the Cambodian government for its close work with “the donor community, civil society and NGOs, implemented the 100% Condom Use Program, which is saving lives.” She said the next step for the Cambodian government is “to ensure the sustainability of its HIV/AIDS programs through increased budget allocation”.

Though the rate of Cambodian adult prevalence has declined from 2% in 1998 to 0.9% in 2006, AIDS experts warned that if prevention is not taken as a priority the country could see a second wave of infections. Over 29,000 Cambodian people are now taking ARV medication.