Condom Program To Target All Provinces

By Seng Ratana, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
07 May 2008

A new program to expand condom use among sex workers will hit all 24 provinces and municipalities, officials said Tuesday at the official launch of the campaign.

The US and UK are providing $27 million over the next five years to help Population Services International curb the spread of HIV through condom use.

PSI Director Chris Jones said that the goal of the program is to improve the health of vulnerable Cambodians, by reducing HIV infection, and to improve the sexual and reproductive health of women.

The project will seek to make condoms widely available in the country’s brothels, karaoke bars, beer gardens and hotels.

USAID Director Erin Soto said the amount of assistance from the two countries was sizable and would not have been provided unless it was sure to be put to good use.

Social marketing such as that done by PSI works, she said.

Cambodia has about 67,000 people living with HIV or AIDS, though its prevalence has dropped in recent years.

Teng Kunthy, secretary-general of the National AIDS Authority, said condom use was the key to the reduction of the disease.

USAID and British Work to Improve Sexual Health

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - A new program aimed at reducing the rate of new HIV infections and child mortality and improving reproductive and sexual health for Cambodians begins May 6 thanks to the joint efforts of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the British Department for International Development (DFID).

(Media-Newswire.com) - PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - A new program aimed at reducing the rate of new HIV infections and child mortality and improving reproductive and sexual health for Cambodians begins May 6 thanks to the joint efforts of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the British Department for International Development (DFID).

Together, the two development agencies will invest up to $27 million during the next five years encouraging the nation's most poor and vulnerable populations to use donor-subsidized contraceptives. The Evidence to Action Partnership for Health, as the program is called, will use social marketing to promote and distribute affordable contraceptives as well as change ideas, attitudes and behaviors to expand the use and sale of contraceptives throughout Cambodia.

"Through a groundbreaking partnership between USAID and DFID, this program will ensure that all Cambodians - regardless of their socio-economic status - have access to the products and information they need to make informed decisions about their health and well being," said Erin Soto, mission director of USAID Cambodia.

The effort builds on the Royal Government of Cambodia's 100% Condom Use Program, which has helped decrease HIV/AIDS in Cambodia, a rare success story in the global fight against the disease.

Also, by increasing access to high-quality, affordable contraceptives, more couples can plan births.

For more information about USAID and its programs in Cambodia, visit www.usaid.gov.

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