PHNOM PENH [ACTED News] – World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people around to world to raise awareness on one of the most devastating pandemics.

HIV/AIDS prevalence among populations aged 15-49 has steadily declined, dropping to 0.8% in 2011, versus 2.1% in 1998. Success in controlling the epidemic has been due to prevention and control efforts driven by Cambodian health authorities and their partners.

More than 15,000 people sensitized and 300,000 condoms distributed

However, gains made in controlling the spread of the disease are at risk due to ongoing high prevalence rates among high risk populations, mainly injecting drug users (24.4%).

ACTED-PSF works with these most at risk populations, providing them with prevention and treatment for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). ACTED-PSF currently reaches 21% of all EWs in Phnom Penh, providing them with education and STI consultation services. Between July and September 2011, 9,206 consultations were provided to high risk populations, across 10 service points. Consultations are complemented by education on topics such as STI and HIV/AIDS risk, family planning and reproductive health, drug and alcohol use and nutrition.

Quarter three 2011 saw 15,728 beneficiaries receive outreach education from a network of close to 400 peer educators, recruited and trained by ACTED-PSF. During the same period, nearly 300,000 free condoms were distributed to high risk groups.

National logistics support

At the national level, ACTED-PSF has also in the past supported authorities in the logistics management of Anti-Retroviral Drugs (ARVs). Capacity-building of skills in stock management and drug knowledge have been undertaken to ensure optimal use of available resources. In 2010, ACTED-PSF provided supervision and training on logistic management to 41 Referral Hospitals in 22 of Cambodia’s 24 provinces. This project has helped to protect against drug shortages and minimize wastage of costly ARVs.

Future projects will continue to improve on logistic management and rational drug use and continue education and treatment efforts among high risk populations to support authorities in their efforts to reduce the number of new HIV infections and to increase care and support to people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

As part of World AIDS Day on 1st December 2011, members of ACTED-PSF’s SMARTgirl program delivered a performance about safe sex for a small but eager crowd gathered on Koh Pich island. The play focused on the experiences of the city’s entertainment workers, a group who remain highly vulnerable to HIV infection, to deliver a message about the necessity of good reproductive health and family planning practices for entertainment workers and the broader population alike. The crowd’s reaction suggests the message was very well received, a positive sign that the country’s HIV prevalence rate will continue its already impressive decline into the future.