Currently there is an ambitious campaign in progress to test one million people for HIV/AIDS. This effort was launched on the annual Water Festival in Cambodia. This festival is the biggest event in the Cambodian calendar because it marks the end of the rainy season. Several organizations are working in conjunction to make this event happen; two of which are the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and Cambodia CARES. Cambodia CARES has become the leading organization in AIDS treatment, operating 11 free clinics and donating 20,000 kits to government HIV testing programs.
At just one of the four testing sites created by AHF/Cambodia CARES 250 people were tested. Of these 250 people three tested positive. These individuals were counseled and linked to clinics to follow up with care and treatment. “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 number of HIV counseling and testing centers has grown exponentially in the past five years leaving Cambodia with a total of 199 centers at the beginning of 2008. To learn more about either organization or HIV/AIDS go to: www.aidshealth.org.
It is important, not only for Cambodia, but for the world to see how much one country can grow to protect its citizens from a deadly pandemic. One can only hope that the rest of the world follows Cambodia’s example of HIV/AIDs awareness.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/HIV-Testing-Global-One-Million/story.aspx?guid=%7B9B2F911A-7A4B-41AA-9E16-D0B19DA84F11%7D
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