On Monday afternoon of May 12, 2025, from 4 p.m. at Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Senior Minister Ieng Mouly, Chair of the National AIDS Authority and Prof. Chheang Ra, Minister of Health, met and discussed with Ms. Winnie Byanyima, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNAIDS. The meeting was attended by the top management of the Ministry of Health, UNAIDS Cambodia, and the National AIDS Authority. The meeting was organized to discuss on HIV and AIDS response in the final phase of its ending and the declining external funding.
In his opening remarks, the Senior Minister welcomed and thanked the Director-General for taking the opportunity to visit Cambodia, which highlighted the excellent cooperation between UNAIDS and the Kingdom of Cambodia. Then the Senior Minister invited Professor Chheang Ra, Minister of Health to have his remarks. The Minister spoke about the Ministry of Health’s efforts in responding to HIV and AIDS, leading to the shared goal of ending AIDS in Cambodia. At the same time, the Ministry is also preparing to integrate HIV program into the health system, strengthen the workforce, provide effective HIV services, and invest in community-based organizations.
In addition to the Minister’s remarks, the Senior Minister briefed Ms. Winnie Byanyima on the adoption of the National Policy for Ending AIDS and the Sustainability of HIV program for 2023-2028 at the Council of Ministers meeting held on March 15, 2024, chaired by Samdech Moha Bovor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Senior Minister emphasized that according to the latest data, Cambodia has achieved 92-100-99 of the 95-95-95 target. At the same time, we are very concerned that young people aged 15 to 24 years olds do not receive adequate education on safe sex.
In response, Ms. Winnie Byanyima commended the success of the fight against HIV and AIDS in Cambodia by highlighting that Cambodia has brought a significant perspective to the AIDS response. Cambodia is a leading country, working with all stakeholders and without discrimination. This has been clearly demonstrated to the world. We are currently in a period of great transition. We need to review the strategy to end AIDS by 2030. Some countries have withdrawn and discriminated against key populations she added. Furthermore, she praised Cambodia for its openness to new ideas and welcomed its commitment to expanding health care services. At the same time, Cambodia was the first country to prepare a roadmap for sustainability in the response to HIV and AIDS. Before concluding, Ms. Winnie Byanyima suggested that Cambodia should consider on providing support to civil society organizations involved in the response to HIV and AIDS and promised to help Cambodia find a good model.
In conclusion, the Senior Minister raised another concern about the budget issue. Currently, the Royal Government has contributed a lot of funds and is ready to respond to the problem. If we implement the National Policy for Ending AIDS and the sustainability of HIV programs well, it will enable to reduce costs and improve cost-effectiveness he added. The Senior Minister agreed to work closely with the UNAIDS Office in Cambodia to assess the costs of strengthening work towards ending AIDS.
