PHNOM PENH: HIV/AIDS killed about 1,000 people in Cambodia in 2024, down nine per cent from 1,100 in a year earlier, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has said.
In a message dated Wednesday (Nov 26) and released to the media on Friday, Hun Manet said the South-East Asian country recorded roughly 1,200 new HIV infections in 2024, a decrease of 20 per cent from 1,500 in 2023.
He said the kingdom currently has approximately 76,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, of which 71,716 have received antiretroviral drugs.
"Despite this achievement, more than 4,000 people were still unaware that they were infected with HIV, and had not yet received antiretroviral drugs," he said in the message, which was issued to commemorate the upcoming World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
The prime minister said the kingdom is committed to reducing new HIV infections to just more than 200 cases and fatalities to less than 200 cases per year.
Cambodia aimed at achieving the 95-95-95 HIV treatment targets by the end of 2025, according to the National AIDS Authority.
The targets mean 95 per cent of the people who are living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 95 per cent of the people who know that they are living with HIV being on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and 95 per cent of people who are on treatment being virally suppressed.
As of 2024, the country had a response rate of 92-100-98, the National AIDS Authority said. - Xinhua
