Xinhua, Phnom Penh :
HIV/AIDS had killed more than 1,300 people in Cambodia in 2018, down 48 percent from over 2,500 deaths in 2010, Ieng Mouly, chairman of the National AIDS Authority, said Sunday.
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
Speaking at an event marking the World AIDS Day, Mouly said some 880 people became newly infected with HIV last year, down 62 percent from 2,300 nine years ago.
“We have seen continued success in combating HIV/AIDS in the last decade, and we are seeking about 20 million U.S. dollars a year from 2020 in order to achieve our target of ending HIV/AIDS in Cambodia by 2025,” he said.
Currently, the Southeast Asian nation has an estimated 73,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, and about 81 percent of them have received antiretroviral drugs, according to the National AIDS Authority.
Pauline Tamesis, resident coordinator of the United Nations in Cambodia, said despite these immense achievements, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is not yet over.
In 2018, 25 percent of new HIV infections were among men who have sex with men, more than three-fold increase from 7 percent in 2010, she said.
