Cambodia Vows to Continue Fight Against HIV/AIDS

Cambodia vows to continue fight against HIV/AIDS

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) — Cambodia on Thursday marked the 18th World AIDS Day, aimed at preventing HIV/AIDS spread in Cambodia.

Cambodia is one of three countries in the world that have reduced the spread of HIV/AIDS effectively, according to UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan in June.

Cambodia’s HIV/AIDS transmission rate has reduced from 3.3 percent in 1997 to 1.9 percent in 2003 thanks to the efforts of the government, society and the help of international community.

However, “HIV/AIDS issue is still severe, and is menacing housewives and children at a high level; and it has been already catastrophic,” warned Sok An, deputy prime minister and minister of Council of Ministers, at a gathering attended by more than 3, 000 people.

The transmission rate from husband to wife amongst new cases is 42 percent, according to Hong Sun Hout, senior minister and chairman of National AIDS Authority.

Every day, seven housewives are infected from their husbands and seven babies are infected with HIV/AIDS from their mothers, and 100,000 people died of HIV/AIDS and have left more than 70,000 orphans, he added.

It is estimated that in 2010, the number of people who die of HIV/ AIDS will reach 230,000 if there is no availability of ARV ( anti- retroviral drugs), Sok An warned.

“Therefore, we must not let even a person to be infected by HIV/ AIDS because it does not only have reverse impacts on human resource development. But also the development of our country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sok An pointed out that the root courses of the spreading of HIV/AIDS are poverty, illiteracy, gender inequality, degradation of social morality, irresponsibility of HIV/AIDS in the family and so on.

He called on the public society “to give social and family values through the promotion of social morality, the strengthened individual and family responsibilities as well as giving an opportunity to local community and family to take leadership role in the combating and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.