Cambodia
Click on an image to view that person's photographs and stories.
Cambodia is the country most affected by HIV in Asia, with a national prevalence of approximately 2.6%. Over 250,000 people have been infected with HIV in Cambodia since the beginning of the epidemic and 94,000 people have died of AIDS.
However, increased political commitment, stronger responses from civil society and a wide range of activities by the Ministry of Health are beginning to stem the tide of new infections. The number of new infections has dropped from 100 a day in 1997 to 20 a day in 2004.
Sex work, sex between men and injecting drug use have been the principal modes of HIV transmission in Cambodia and there is increasing recognition among both government and civil society of the importance of recognising and working with these groups to prevent HIV and mitigate its impact.
The Alliance’s linking organisation, the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance (KHANA) has worked with community partners in Siem Reap, Battambang and Sihanoukville, three of Cambodia’s most highly affected areas, to implement the Frontiers Prevention Project.
Throughout the pages that follow we have used the Khmer term sray sros when it was used by the photographers in talking about themselves or describing their photos. Sray sros means ‘charming girl’ and is commonly used by transgender Cambodians to describe themselves.
The term MSM is also used and refers to men who have sex with men.
A number of the photographs and stories that follow talk about antiretrovirals. Antiretrovirals are the main type of treatment for HIV. They don’t cure HIV; but, when taken properly, combinations of different antiretroviral drugs can reduce the amount of HIV in the blood which reduces the risk of becoming ill or dying because of HIV. The prominence of antiretrovirals in the stories which follow illustrates their increasing availability in Cambodia.
