Meeting of Senior Minister His Excellency Ieng Mouly with USAID Representative
Senior Minister His Excellency Ieng Mouly, Chair of the National AIDS Authority, permitted the working group, implementing the new Local Health Sustainable System project, led by Dr. Chak Chantha to pay a courtesy call on and introduce the team to him and hold discussion on the harmonization of the NAA vision and the action framework of the US Agency for International Development (USAIDS) project at the Authority’s headquarters on the morning of October 20, 2020.
Objective: To guide the working group implementing the project and hold discussion on the project direction in order to make the Local Health Sustainable System (LHSS) bankrolled by the US Agency for International Development sustainable.
At the beginning, while welcoming all the delegates, His Excellency the Senior Minister said:
The role and responsibility of the National AIDS Authority are that it has active cooperation and potential mechanisms in fulfilling obligations with ministries, institutions, and diverse partner organizations to launch measures to control and prevent the spread of AIDS, focusing on several key points, such as the HIV epidemic situation, response to and fighting against AIDS, experiences in the priority activities implementation, and vision of firm cooperation with all partners. This includes introducing the implementation of new methods and the prevention of HIV infection, prior to the community facing challenges in the prevention, treatment, and health care services.
The NAA has made good progress in strengthening the social protection system through effective integration that covers the public and private sectors by implementing the National Strategic Plan for a Comprehensive Multisectoral Response to HIV/AIDS, including a well-defined role in the formulation of policies as well. The NAA has executed the six measures of Sor Chor Nor 213, starting in Kampong Speu Province, for implementation in other provinces.
Next, His Excellency the Senior Minister permitted the USAID delegates to voice their views as follows:
1. Dr. Chak Chantha, head of the Health System Strengthening team (USAID), brought up the following key points:
• We continue cooperation to end the spread of HIV/AIDS towards achieving the goal in 2025.
• The project intends to strengthen the capacity at the provincial level in order to organize the subnational action plan, budget planning, monitoring, and financial report pertaining to response to general health, including to HIV/AIDS.
• Identify challenges in the provision of services to respond to AIDS.
• Provide funding for community participation and sustainability maintenance.
2. Mr. Nick Edwards, head of the LHSS project of Abt Associates:
• It is pleased to strengthen the cooperation with and support for the NAA to organize the action plan and to include the fund for HIV/AIDS response at the subnational level;
• To strengthen the capacity of NAA officials to monitor the progress in the implementation of Notification Sor Chor Nor Sor Sor 213 as well as in data collection, retention, and analysis towards maintaining sustainability in response to HIV/AIDS, and
• To work with the NAA to establish a national database and analyze the progress of Notification Sor Chor Nor Sor Sor 213.
3. Madam Dr. Srey Muni, principal advisor to the LHSS project of Abt Associates:
• This new project will help strengthen human resources through trainings, workshops, and technical meetings to share strategic information.
• Help strengthen the monitoring and evaluation system and lay out the action plan.
Afterward, continuing the discussion, His Excellency the Senior Minister had conversation and offered some key recommendations as follows:
• The NAA backs the major activities package brought up by the LHSS project. It is in agreement with the vision and work objectives being released by the NAA.
• The NAA is currently working to engage the community to take part sustainably and to promote political solutions with which technical assistants may be hired to integrate HIV response at the local level.
• The NAA has already integrated the AIDS program into the subnational action plan of the capital city and of some provinces, municipalities, districts, communes, and sangkats. It is proposed that the new project take into consideration the possibility of assisting the NAA to expand this task, as much as possible, to a larger number of provinces, districts, Khan, communes, and sangkats in the form of supporting workshops, training courses, or costs incurred by our officials on mission to provide training.
• The NAA encourages the subnational level to update the capital, provincial, municipal, and district AIDS Committees and inspires them to hold meeting regularly.
• It is proposed that the project supports the NAA in assisting to provide training to communes and sangkats on how to prepare budget proposals, utilize funds, and undertake social services as defined in the Ministry of Interior’s book, beginning in all the communes in Basedth District and using Kampong Speu Province as model in implementing the AIDS combating program.
• Last month, we organized a training course in Kampong Speu Province. It was attended by the provincial governor, the directors of the health and economy and finance departments, the head of the provincial treasury, the directors of relevant departments, the district governor, the commune chiefs, the commune councilors, the commune clerks, the director of the referral hospital, and the head of the health center. This task will be carried out in all the provinces in the New Year, coinciding with the launching of the LHSS project.
At the end, His Excellency the Senior Minister thanked the USAID for its continued cooperation to advance the response to HIV/AIDS.
The meeting concluded at 11:15 am in an extremely pleasant and cordial atmosphere.
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