How Cambodia became the first Asian country to hit an elusive HIV target
Cambodia has become the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to meet the UN's 95-95-95 HIV targets, ensuring that 95% of people living with HIV know their status, are on treatment, and are virally suppressed. Experts attribute this success to community-based strategies that prioritize reducing stigma and increasing access to care.
Why it matters
Cambodia's achievement provides a successful model for other nations struggling to manage HIV control amidst social stigma and healthcare barriers.
Only 11 countries in the world can say this:
Ninety-five percent of people living there, who are HIV positive, know their status.
Ninety-five percent of HIV-positive people are taking medication that lowers the amount of the virus in their body.
And 95% of people on HIV medication have a viral load so low, they're considered virally suppressed. This means they have an almost zero risk of passing HIV on to their partners.
In June, Cambodia became the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to reach this milestone, which the U.N. has set as a goal for every country to achieve by the year 2030. The 95-95-95 targets were called ambitious and daunting when UNAIDS set them in 2020.
But since then, 11 nations, most of which are in Africa, have achieved them . Denmark is the one European nation on the list.
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