HIV-positive Ouk Mony, (3rd-R) tells her personal story during a conference in Phnom Penh. Cambodia still has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the region at 1.9 percent. But only a fraction of HIV-positive Cambodians have access to affordable treatment, and are increasingly the target of discrimination.(AFP/Tang Chhin Sothy)PHNOM PENH - Kong Kim Sy tearfully recounted being shunned at every step - but what was especially painful for her is the memory of being thrown out of religious ceremonies in her home village.
The 50-year-old Cambodian woman is one of about 123,000 people living with HIV in this impoverished Southeast Asian country, which still has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the region at 1.9 percent.
But despite some victories - Cambodia was also the first Asian nation to halt a spiralling infection rate -- only a fraction of HIV-positive Cambodians have access to affordable treatment, and are increasingly the target of discrimination.
"I don't have a job to make money because people repel me," said Kong Kim Sy, who like a growing number of women became infected with HIV through her husband, who died four years ago.
"I have been facing difficulty for so long already. Villagers discriminate against me, especially when I try to attend religious ceremonies - they say I should not come," she told AFP at a conference Wednesday.
Some 100 Cambodians living with HIV had gathered to demand better treatment from the government and society, as well as access to effective treatment.
"Most HIV-positive people lack access to these relatively inexpensive drug treatments. This luxury is reserved only for those select few who can afford it," the Cambodian Alliance for Combating HIV/AIDs said in a statement.
The Alliance said only about 14,300 HIV-positive Cambodians currently have access to proper treatment.
"We are dismissed from our jobs ... treated like 'monkeys' in drug trials, evicted from our homes, abandoned by our families," the Alliance said.
Two years ago Cambodia found itself the focus of an international debate over an HIV vaccine trial when Prime Minister Hun Sen called off the plans to test Tenofovir on hundreds of prostitutes.
Some 960 sex workers were slated to take part in the trial, partly funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but boycotted it saying they wanted medical insurance for side effects for up to 40 years after the study.
The study was attempting to discover if it could reduce the risk of HIV among uninfected but sexually active adults.
Nearly 50 Cambodians die from AIDs every day, according to government figures, while another 22 adults are infected with HIV. There are 55,000 AIDS orphans, UNAIDS says. - AFP
The 50-year-old Cambodian woman is one of about 123,000 people living with HIV in this impoverished Southeast Asian country, which still has the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the region at 1.9 percent.
But despite some victories - Cambodia was also the first Asian nation to halt a spiralling infection rate -- only a fraction of HIV-positive Cambodians have access to affordable treatment, and are increasingly the target of discrimination.
"I don't have a job to make money because people repel me," said Kong Kim Sy, who like a growing number of women became infected with HIV through her husband, who died four years ago.
"I have been facing difficulty for so long already. Villagers discriminate against me, especially when I try to attend religious ceremonies - they say I should not come," she told AFP at a conference Wednesday.
Some 100 Cambodians living with HIV had gathered to demand better treatment from the government and society, as well as access to effective treatment.
"Most HIV-positive people lack access to these relatively inexpensive drug treatments. This luxury is reserved only for those select few who can afford it," the Cambodian Alliance for Combating HIV/AIDs said in a statement.
The Alliance said only about 14,300 HIV-positive Cambodians currently have access to proper treatment.
"We are dismissed from our jobs ... treated like 'monkeys' in drug trials, evicted from our homes, abandoned by our families," the Alliance said.
Two years ago Cambodia found itself the focus of an international debate over an HIV vaccine trial when Prime Minister Hun Sen called off the plans to test Tenofovir on hundreds of prostitutes.
Some 960 sex workers were slated to take part in the trial, partly funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but boycotted it saying they wanted medical insurance for side effects for up to 40 years after the study.
The study was attempting to discover if it could reduce the risk of HIV among uninfected but sexually active adults.
Nearly 50 Cambodians die from AIDs every day, according to government figures, while another 22 adults are infected with HIV. There are 55,000 AIDS orphans, UNAIDS says. - AFP
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