June 2020 Monthly Meeting Held Under High Presidency of Senior Minister His Excellency Ieng Mouly
Senior Minister His Excellency Ieng Mouly, Chair of the National AIDS Authority, presided over the authority’s June 2020 monthly meeting at the NAA Headquarters on the morning of Tuesday, June 30, 2020. The meeting to review the results of work activities performed by the authority’s top managers and officials was attended by 65 (including 17 women) Excellencies, Lok Chumteavs, ladies, and gentlemen, who are vice chairs, advisers, secretary general, director of cabinet, deputy director of cabinet, technical advisers, deputy secretaries general, department directors, deputy department directors, heads of office, and deputy heads of office.
To begin, His Excellency the Senior Minister spoke to welcome and commend all the public servants for having actively carried out their tasks with fine results. He then advised all of them to carry on with their efforts and allowed Secretary General HE Chhim Khindareth to report the results of work activities undertaken by the NAA top management and Secretariat General in June 2020 and the targets set for July.
With the permission granted by His Excellency the Senior Minister, taking the floor, Secretary General HE Chhim Khindareth made a presentation, focusing on the results of major work activities as follows:
1) Progress report of the NAA top management and Secretariat General.
2) Achievements in the response to HIV/AIDS.
3) Challenges of COVID-19 that impact on work activity implementation.
4) Action plan for July.
In the report, His Excellency the Secretary General gave an account of a number of lessons and experiences in the work activity implementation as follows:
·FHI 360 was invited to make presentation of CamBlitz Project to provide profound understanding of its activities. This organization’s aim is to motivate people living with HIV, especially those with high HIV transmission, to undergo HIV test, thereby rendering it expedient to verify their documentation, inspire them to receive medication, and keep track of them. His Excellency the Secretary General also asked the organization to expand to 25 (capital city and provinces), enabling us to receive an official document. Therefore, we will gain access to the information of all the patients listed in this document, regardless of whether they have come or have already died.
·The National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD has a Toah Test testing program that promotes online testing throughout the country.
·The head of Svay Rieng Province’s Health Department requested an ART site in Bavet, where there are more than 70,000 workers. It is best if health services and education about AIDS are in existence there.
·At Romeas Hek Referral Hospital, HIV/AIDS service providers raised the difficulties in such as blood shipment, blood testing, provision of health education, confidentiality, and medication acquisition.
·To continue coordinating with the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology, and STD; Ministry of Health; national and subnational administrations, and civil society organizations on the response to HIV/AIDS.
·To prepare the First NAA Plenary Meeting planned to be held on July 23 via video conference.
·To Prepare the sixth meeting 2020 of the Technical Advisory Council.
Further, in the second agenda, His Excellency the Senior Minister permitted NAA Vice Chair HE Tia Phalla to give a presentation on the integration of AIDS work into the Commune/Sangkat Development Plan (CDP) and Commune/Sangkat Investment Plan (CIP). HE Tia Phalla presented the report to the meeting as follows:
·Decentralizing the implementation of S.C.N 213 Notification in HIV response in Kampong Speu Province.
·Strengthening key population network (KP) activities in HIV response.
·Increase in HIV transmission is discovered mostly among the MSM and young transgender groups.
·Activities in communicating with development partners to have the LHSS Project continue, following the termination of the HP+ project in September 2020.
·Activities in tracking the implementation of Fast-Track Cities in the four signatory provinces (Phnom Penh Capital City and Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, and Siem Reap Province Provinces).
·U = U (undetectable = untransmittable). Coordination, search for support of and right to social protection, data collection, and commune/sangkat capacity building.
After that, the meeting continued to the third agenda with His Excellency the Senior Minister making conversation and offering the following key recommendations:
1) This is the first direct meeting after our failure to do so due to COVID-19. From April 10, 2020 thus far, we only met via video conference. So, this is the first time we can meet face to face again.
2) From July 1 2020 onward, we should resume working as usual by carrying on with hygiene, wearing masks, washing hands with alcohol or gel, maintaining distance, taking the temperature of all civil servants, and so forth. In case budget is available, missions to provinces may be undertaken, but attention must be paid to the national budget, which has been cut down due to COVID-19.
3) The Secretariat General is encouraged to continue providing trainings to public servants at all levels to further build up their capacity. Besides, encouragement and commendation are presented to the professional management for being a trainer. It is asked to continue sharing this knowhow with our civil servants. Moreover, the Secretariat General is encouraged to try to search for definitely skilled and highly experienced external trainers to make new presentations gained from all circles, ranging from the Royal Government; civil society; and development partners in the public health, socioeconomic, and social protection fields, and so forth.
4) The task we should further pay attention to is the NAA role in coordinating, advising, and checking the work of fighting against AIDS towards achieving the 95-95-95 targets by 2025. The activities that should be carried out are to facilitate searching for around 10,000 missing persons who fail to seek treatment services, providing care and treatment, coordinating the program of preventing AIDS spread, and reducing discrimination against HIV carriers.
5) Together, we should seek understanding of consequences of or impacts on the AIDS program implementations arisen due to all appearances of COVID-19, be it the implementation of national or Global Fund programs. Should the impacts on the implementation of the programs be found, proposals should be presented for the top management to look for solutions.
6) Efforts should be exerted to work in collaboration with the subnational, provincial, and capital city levels in order to integrate the AIDS program into the action plans of the city, provinces, municipalities, districts, communes, and sangkats on the announcement of placing departments under the management of the capital city and provinces.
7) Capital city, provincial, municipal, and district AIDS committees should be encouraged to meet regularly and their processes updated.
8) Communes and sangkats should be trained on how to use budgets and on how to perform social services specified in the Ministry of Interior’s book, starting with all the communes in Basedth District and using Kampong Speu Province as prototype in undertaking the AIDS combating program implementation. We will organize a meeting to be attended by provincial governors; directors of health department, economy department, treasury departments, and departments concerned; district governors; commune chiefs; commune councillors; commune clerks, and heads of referral hospitals and health centers, and so forth.
9) As regards the NAA First Plenary Meeting 2020, due to the current situation, its holding seems to be unfavorable, unlike the previous ones. Therefore, the Secretary General should consider, from now on, holding the meeting via video conference on July 23 2020 by preparing the agenda and issuing invitations to allow invitees time to reply whether they will participate, stressing on the application of S.C.N 213 Notification, Sub-decree, and regulations on the implementation of the program of combating AIDS at the subnational level.
10) In July 2020, there will be the 23rd International AIDS Conference held via video conference. Hence, HE Tia Phalla and other vice chairs who want to seek understanding of the conference are free to join listening. The keynote speakers at the conference will be Dr. Anthony Fauci, Ambassador Deborah Birx, and so forth. Therefore, His Excellency the Secretary General and HE Sorn Piseth are asked to coordinate and inform our officials of the news so they will participate from 6 to 10 July 2020.
At the end, His Excellency the Senior Minister asked all the officials to focus attention more strongly on their tasks. Wherever we realize that our capacity is still limited, we have to strive to do research and learn.
The meeting concluded at 11:17 am in an extremely pleasant and cordial atmosphere.
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June 2020 Monthly Meeting Held Under High Presidency of Senior Minister His Excellency Ieng Mouly