In 1997, Cambodia was confronted with a serious epidemic. Of the total adult population 3% were living with HIV. According to the National AIDS Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD (NCHADS) prevalence rate in Cambodia, which has been on a steady decline since 1998, is the lowest yet at 0.9%.  There are an estimated 67,200 people over the age of 15 living with HIV/AIDS and no one knows quite how many children have been orphaned as a result of the disease. HIV infection among most-at-risk people has been consistently declining, and mortality due to AIDS has stabilized.

Cambodia is one of the few countries in the world that are on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal for HIV/AIDS.

There has been significant behavior change and increases in access to treatment and care as a result of these changes. Cambodia is also one of the few countries that have been able to reach the 3 by 5 target of having at least 50% of people who need ARV treatment receiving ART treatment. According to NCHADS, number of Patients receiving ART as of July 2007 was 23,587 =71% (adult: 21,432 and children: 2,155=72%) but there is still more in need which is 9,413 (adult: 8,568 and children: 845).

The number of VCCT services in Cambodia has increased drastically over the last 6 years, from 12 sites in 2000, to 176 by end of July 2007. The number of people tested annually for HIV has also increased every year.

The key HIV care targets in the MoH’s Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS and STI Prevention and Care for 2004-07 are the expansion of the Continuum of Care program to all (76) Operational Districts (ODs) by end of 2007. Due to the relatively small size of Cambodia and the fact that the health system is still in the process of being established in some ODs, ARV-delivery services will be targeted in 36 key ODs with high HIV care needs, adequate capacity and appropriate geographical location.

As access to ART transforms HIV/AIDS from a death sentence into a chronic illness, the scale-up of ARV therapy being implemented by NCHADS will contribute greatly to the reduction of stigma against PLHIV. The provision of proper OI prophylaxis/ treatment along with ART leads to drastically improved health outcomes and helps disassociate HIV infection with necessary death, bringing hope to PLHIV, their families and their communities. Similarly the expansion of home based care will help reduce discrimination against PLHIV by providing them with psycho-social support as well as grants to initiate income generating activities so they can best re-integrate themselves into their communities and be seen as active contributors to society.

The number of PLHIV support groups has increased from 24 in 2002 to 640 in 2007. The number of active PLHIV supported by these groups increased from 4,000 in 2002 to 29,958 by 2007.

Support services for PLHIV and their families, AIDS orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) have increased in Cambodia. This is largely due to the efforts of NGOs and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MoSVY). Many NGOs provide support in severely affected villages.

The number of home-based care (HBC) teams providing services to people living with HIV/AIDS has been scaled up from 52 teams in 2001 to 310 teams in 2007. A total of 603 (65%) of health centres are linked to HBC teams within the CoC program. These HBC teams are supporting a total of 22,253 PLHIV in 2007.