MEDIA RELEASE PR36887
Cambodia: World AIDS Day HIV Campaign, 'Testing Millions,' to Again Launch During Cambodia's National
Water Festival
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
During Last Year's 'One Million Tests' World AIDS Day 2008 Campaign,
AHF/Cambodia CARES and Cambodian Partners Surpassed Country's 30,000
Testing Goal by Testing 35,034
As part of an ambitious global effort to test several million people for
World AIDS Day 2009 campaign, AHF/Cambodia CARES will launch its inaugural
testing effort during the annual Water Festival, which marks the end of the
rainy season and is the largest festival in the Cambodian calendar. The Water
Festival commences Sunday, November 1st. AIDS Healthcare Foundation
currently provides AIDS medical care and services to more than 120,000
individuals in 22 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin
America/Caribbean, the Asia Pacific Region and Eastern Europe, is
spearheading the worldwide initiative to test millions. Last year, AHF led
the successful 'One Million Tests/World AIDS Day 2008'
AHF/Cambodia CARES and its Cambodian partners surpassed their country goal of
performing 30,000 tests by testing 35,034 individuals, identifying 1,112 HIV
positive individuals in the process. The 2008 campaign far exceeded its goal
of performing one million tests by testing 1,603,272 people and identifying
61,399 HIV positive people.
AHF/Cambodia CARES, which partners with NCHADS in operating 12 free AIDS
treatment clinics throughout the country, has also taken a leadership role to
coordinate and partner with other stakeholders to reach as many people as
possible for the HIV testing and the Love Condom campaign. As its part of the
in-country component of the global testing campaign, AHF/Cambodia CARES has
committed to testing 12,000 people for HIV throughout the month of November
in Cambodia, one of the countries in the Asia Pacific region that has been
hardest-hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
"With the beginning of the Water Festival, AHF/Cambodia CARES will get an
early start and launch our country's participation in the 'Testing Millions'
World AIDS Day 2009 campaign. We will be testing in Phnom Penh and other
provinces and link those found to be positive to a clinic for follow up care
and access to lifesaving antiretroviral treatment as well as the positive
prevention to stop the spreading of the virus, and those who found as
negative will learn about HIV prevention to keep them stay negative" said
Chhim Sarath, M.D., AHF Country Director for Cambodia.
Cambodia is one of the poorest nations in Asia and also has one of the
most rapidly growing HIV/AIDS epidemics in the region. The HIV epidemic has
spread beyond high-risk groups such as sex workers, male police officers,
factory workers, mobile populations, injection drug users and men who have
sex with men, to the general population.
The number of Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) centers in Cambodia
has increased dramatically over the last 5 years (only 12 sites in 2000 to
216 sites by the end of first quarter 2009). Of the current 216 VCT centers,
194 are supported directly by the government, while 22 are supported by
non-governmental organizations.
About AHF
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the nation's largest non-profit
HIV/AIDS organization. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to
more than 120,000 individuals in 22 countries worldwide in the US, Africa,
Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. Additional
SOURCE: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
CONTACT: CAMBODIA --
Chhim Sarath, MD,
Country Program Manager, AHF Global (Phnom Penh),
+855-12-912-124,
chhim.sarath@aidshealth.org,
UNITED STATES --
Ged Kenslea,
Communications Director,
+1-323-791-5526,
gedk@aidshealth.org,
both of AIDS Healthcare Foundation
NEWS 
