H.E. Senior Minister Ieng Mouly advised that “We Cannot Remain Stagnant and Uncaring, Because AIDS May Re-flourish”
Speaking at the workshop on the multisectoral response to HIV/AIDS held by Tbong Khmum Province’s AIDS Committee in the second half of 2019 on the afternoon of August 14, 2019, H.E. Senior Minister Ieng Mouly, Chair of the National AIDS Authority, pointed out that we cannot remain hands crossed and indifferent, because AIDS might recur if we did not join hands to prevent it.
Moreover, he appealed to all the authorities, relevant partner organizations, entertainment establishments, and people to necessarily collaborate to prevent the spread of AIDS, allowing this work to be successful.
In attendance at this workshop were more than 50 attendees, consisting of leading managers of the National AIDS Authority; Cheng Bunara, deputy governor representing the provincial AIDS Committee; Kev Vanak, head of the province’s health office; representatives of the province’s AIDS Secretariat, relevant offices, civil society organizations (AHF, MHC, and KWWA); local authorities, and armed forces members.
The workshop was held to review the progress in and conduct study to seek understanding of the multisectoral fight against AIDS at the subnational level through incorporating the AIDS-fighting work in the Safe Village and Commune Policy towards achieving the 95-95-95 targets by 2025.
Following the welcoming speech made by the deputy province governor, the Senior Minister said that we provide treatment and care to AIDS patients through heath system. However, AIDS needs to be dealt with the multisectoral way to prevent disdain and discrimination. According to Samdech Decho, we have to carry out the AIDS work from head to toe. Ministries, institutions, the capital city, provinces, development partners, and civil society should join forces to do it.
Our Cambodia has achieved success in the multisectoral fight against AIDS. The National AIDS Authority and the Ministry of Health work jointly. In provinces, when visiting restaurants and entertainment establishments, tourism offices should not fail to remind the staff there to prevent HIV infection too.
The Ministry of National Assembly and Senate Relations and Inspection may assist in the dissemination of laws to prevent discrimination against AIDS patients. We should jointly address the issue concerning non-discrimination with AIDS patients. We should educate people to know how to protect themselves and tell them that if they are suspicious of being infected with HIV, they must take blood test and use condoms to protect themselves. AIDS patients are unlike the others. They feel embarrassed, but not afraid of death, and they do not attempt to seek treatment either.
After that, the head of the health office summarized the work of combating AIDS in the province, and then the AHF representative made a presentation of the fight against AIDS in Tbong Khmum Province. As for Dr. Tea Phalla, vice chair of the National AIDS Authority, he asked about the number of entertainment girls and venues, education dissemination, and HIV blood test. He also made known about sex trends and the use of gay phone program that leads to the worrisome rise in the rate of new cases.
Speaking again, the Senior Minister said that our joint AIDS work achieved the 90-90-90 targets in 2017. Now, we suspect that of the some 70,000 AIDS patients, more than 60,000 have received treatment and over 10,000 are uncounted for. He stressed that we cannot remain still and indifferent, because AIDS may recur. We are concerned that infection is on the rise among men who have sex with men.
At the end, the Senior Minister advised that in the multisectoral fight against AIDS, we might join hands to help by:
1) All ministries fulfill their respective roles to assist in educating people to protect themselves and prevent the spread of AIDS;
2) Whenever new cases are found in tests, the patients’ backgrounds should be studied to find out whether they have just been or infected a long time ago;
3) We are in the process of requesting that health centers be able to utilize funds for AIDS work, and
4) We also will drop AIDS work to subnational levels for communes and sangkats by incorporating it in the safe village and commune policy.
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