AHF в Камбодже расширяет борьбу с ВИЧ: от лечения до поддержки доходов и женского лидерства

More than two decades after learning she was living with HIV, Sar Savoeun’s story is no longer defined by her condition. The 48-year-old woman from Svay Rieng province lost her husband in 1997 and later endured illness, weight loss and stigma after testing positive for HIV in November 2003. With counselling, home visits and medical care, she recovered and became a peer educator. Her journey later moved beyond the clinic. Through the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Cambodia’s Food for Health programme, Savoeun received support for snail farming and poultry raising. The “assistance improved my family’s financial stability and quality of life on treatment”, she said in AHF’s 2025 Asia Effective Strategies and Lessons Learned report. She added that support and acceptance helped her overcome stigma and build a life with “purpose and dignity”. Savoeun’s experience reflects AHF Cambodia’s broader health approach after more than 20 years in the country. Although HIV prevention, testing and treatment remain its clinical foundation, the organisation’s work also covers confidential sexual health services, girls’ empowerment and menstrual health, nutrition and livelihoods, and public health advocacy. The approach recognises that medicine alone cannot overcome poverty, stigma, gender barriers and limited access to information. It comes as Cambodia celebrates becoming the first country in Asia and the Pacific to achieve the global 95-95-95 HIV targets. The achievement means 95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed receive antiretroviral treatment and 95 per cent of those on treatment achieve viral suppression. However, nearly 1,000 new infections were estimated in 2025, most among key populations and their partners. Cambodia aims to reduce annual infections to fewer than 250 by 2030. HIV care still the bedrock AHF Cambodia supports HIV treatment services through public health facilities in 19 provinces, working with the Ministry of Health, the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD, National AIDS Authority and other partners. Its work includes testing, treatment support, care for opportunistic infections, condom promotion and community outreach. A mobile testing van launched in 2017 also reaches remote and border communities. At an AHF-supported treatment site in Siem Reap, nurse counsellor Chhim Chhoeun said confidentiality and a more welcoming environment had strengthened patients’ confidence in seeking care. “This work has allowed me to use my professional skills to support clients, enhance treatment adherence, and improve their quality of life,” she told AHF for its Asia report. The report showed that clients lost to follow-up at the site declined from 198 cases, or 5.7 per cent, in 2018 to 85 cases, or 2.1 per cent, in 2024. Viral suppression reached 99.2 per cent. Confidential sexual health services AHF Cambodia’s work also extends into broader sexual health services. Its Wellness Centre (STI treatment) in Phnom Penh provides confidential HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Services include testing for HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea, as well as PrEP, post-exposure prophylaxis, antiretroviral care, condoms and STI management. Such services are particularly important for people who may avoid care because of concerns about privacy, stigma or discrimination. Seum Sophal, an officer with the Forum of Networks of People Living with HIV and Key Populations at the Health Action Coordinating Committee, recalled the fear that followed his diagnosis more than 20 years ago. “I was ready to die,” he told UNAIDS. He later became a community volunteer, visiting people in their homes and encouraging them to test, start treatment and remain in care. “They are among the people most affected by HIV and must not be left behind. If we protect their health and rights, we can end AIDS,” he said. Girls’ health and leadership Through AHF global page AHF Cambodia’s Girls Act programme addresses sexual and reproductive health, menstrual health, education and leadership among adolescent girls and young women. Cambodia was the first Asian country to launch the programme. Mon Srey Ka, a 19-year-old from Prey Sor, said she had known “very little about reproductive health or HIV-related issues” before joining Girls Act in 2020. She later began facilitating discussions with girls from poor and HIV-affected families. Srey Ka said family restrictions, embarrassment and fear of discrimination continued to prevent some young women from discussing health concerns. She said the programme gave her “the confidence, skills, and determination to pursue my dreams”. AHF has also engages in place for menstrual hygiene corners in schools, providing sanitary products and health information. The initiative aims not only to provide supplies but also to create an environment where girls can ask questions without shame. Food and income as health issues Food for Health reflects another part of AHF Cambodia’s wider approach. The programme supports food security, nutrition and small-scale livelihoods, including vegetable growing, fruit cultivation, fish farming, snail raising and poultry production to support their nutrition under treatment adherence. The principle is that free medicine may not be enough when patients still struggle with transport costs, food insecurity or lost income. Sophal similarly told UNAIDS that poverty, unstable employment and transport costs continued to affect people living with HIV. For Savoeun, livelihood assistance helped provide greater economic stability while allowing her to continue supporting other people living with HIV. Advocacy and sustainability AHF combines healthcare with advocacy for access to treatment, affordable medicines and public health policies. In Cambodia, it works with government institutions and uses campaigns such as International Condom Day and World AIDS Day and others to promote prevention and challenge stigma. Senior Minister Ieng Mouly, chairman of the National AIDS Authority, warned that Cambodia’s HIV achievement should not create complacency. “This achievement is a source of national pride, but it also comes with responsibility,” he said, according to UNAIDS. Patricia Ongpin, UNAIDS country director for Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam, said maintaining progress would require “sustained political leadership and investment in the fundamental elements of a multisectoral and collaborative HIV response”. AHF Cambodia’s experience shows why the next phase of public health cannot rely on medicine alone. Savoeun needed treatment, but also acceptance and economic stability. Srey Ka needed health information, but also confidence. Sophal’s experience showed that free medicine does not remove the cost of transport, food or unstable work. After more than 20 years in Cambodia, HIV care remains at the centre of AHF’s work. But its programmers increasingly extend from clinics into homes, schools and livelihoods, reflecting a broader effort to ensure poverty, stigma and gender barriers do not prevent vulnerable communities from staying healthy.