Senior Minister His Excellency Ieng Mouly Presides Over Opening of Consultative Workshop on HIV and Social Protection Evaluation
Senior Minister His Excellency Ieng Mouly, Chair of the National AIDS Authority, presided over the opening of the Consultative Workshop on HIV and Social Protection Evaluation at Phnom Penh Hotel on the morning of February 6, 2020.
Also present at the meeting were Excellencies, Lok Chumteavs, ladies, and gentlemen from the National Social Protection Council; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation; Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, and Payement Certification Agency, as well as representatives of key population, especially of UNAIDS and HP+, which offered financial and technical assistance for the holding of this key workshop.
The main objectives of the workshop were to:
1) Specify the modality (schemes) and implementation of social protection.
2) Identify barriers faced by HIV carriers and key population to assessing the protection services program.
3) Discover recommendations for ways to respond to those barriers.
The theme of this consultative workshop covered two key points: social protection and HIV/AIDS.
The Royal Government of Cambodia has adopted a resolution through the slogan, “Nobody Is Left Behind,” and it is currently in the process of implementing its sustainable development goals. We have made good progress in consolidating the social protection system by effectively integrating it to cover the public and private sectors and strengthening the well-defined policymaking role. The Ministry of Economy and Finance led the preparation of the 2016-2025 national social security policy project with two important components: social assistance and social security. We have improved financial risk protection for the poor through the implementation of the health equity fund, including providing financial intervention and supplies for the needy poor. It is estimated that by the end of 2018, the health equity fund and planned social security system had covered more than 30% of the Cambodian population.
Despite this progress, out-of-pocket expenses still remain high, jeopardizing financial risk protection and solidarity as well as causing heavy financial hardship, when making travel to obtain health service. Moreover, awareness of social protection program, such as benefits and responsibilities of those in each regime or program is still limited. Capacities building of the institutions involved in social protection should be improved to meet people’s needs and deal with emerging problems.
Cambodia is one of the seven countries internationally recognized as having reached the 90-90-90 targets in 2017. According to recent estimates of HIV epidemic model (AEM) and Spectrum (April 2019), Cambodia had 73,552 HIV carriers. At present, 81% are aware of their viral loads, and among them 99% who are aware of their status have obtained antiretroviral therapy and about 79% of those receiving treatment have the lowest level of vital suppression. Therefore, since their whereabouts is unknown, the circa 10,000 HIV carriers have not yet been included in the AIDS care service system, and the majority of the rise of new cases of infection is found among young people, specifically among men having sex with men (MSM) and transgender people.
Unexpected challenges in the response to HIV/AIDS are the situation where development partners have gradually scaled down their financial support and where we have resolved to end HIV epidemic by 2025.
Through the same leadership principle that “No One Is Left Behind,” the third strategy of the Fifth National Comprehensive and Multisectoral Strategic Plan on response to HIV/AIDS appeals for strengthening the social protection coverage and enhancing the access to social and legal services.
On this occasion, there was also discussion of the HIV and social protection issues, raised at the Office of the Council of Ministers on February 21, 2019, upon which Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen agreed at the request of the National AIDS Authority. They consist of six-point measure to heighten the country ownership and long-term sustainable response to HIV/AIDS.
The second point of the measure specifies that all the HIV carriers are entitled to the health equity fund. Moreover, it should be pointed out that the (program) of ID-Poor, required by the Ministry of Planning and issued by the end of 2019, will as well provide support to the key population.
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