Priority health concerns
HIV/AIDS
With HIV rates declining, drug treatment funding shrinks
Drug treatment programs are being cut back even as rates of abuse rise—with one organization describing the situation as a “crisis”—because most funding is tied to HIV prevention and the prevalence of the virus is decreasing, health experts said. “Virtually all civil society funding related ...
Cambodia seals health pacts with China
Cambodia and China signed agreements on December 6 to build capacity in Cambodia’s health services, expand technology and fight the spread of diseases. After the official signing of four agreements, Health Minister Mam Bun Heng said the Chinese help would include preventing the spread of threats ...
Adolescents with HIV struggle with drug regimens, stigma
Young people with HIV are facing unique challenges, according to a recent report from Doctors Without Borders Myanmar released ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1. Adolescents with HIV aged 10 to 19 are three times more likely to experience failure with first-line anti-retroviral treatment ...
HIV/AIDS infections increasing in Laos
The number of new Lao HIV-contracted cases annually is trending upwards because at risk groups are having unsafe sex and receiving treatment too late, National Committee to Combat HIV/AIDS reported on November 23. Currently, there are some 11,500 people living with HIV in Laos with ...
300 million children live in areas with extreme air pollution, data reveals
Global study reveals huge number of children breathing toxic fumes more than six times over safe limits, while billions are affected by air pollution that exceeds guidelines. Three hundred million of the world’s children live in areas with extreme air pollution, where toxic fumes are more ...
USAID funds project to monitor HIV prevalence
Laos has a concentrated HIV epidemic compared to other countries, with the prevalence of HIV still at a low level in key groups. But risk behaviours threaten to increase the prevalence of HIV transmission amongst the population so the National Centre for HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted ...
Stakeholders hope capacity building continues once programme ends
Officials, experts and beneficiaries of a Norwegian assistance programme hope target communities continue the capacity development founded by the project once the support ends. They expressed this desire at the closure of support provided by Norwegian Church Aid, which has been implemented in 11 provinces of ...
US supports HIV/AIDS response in Vietnam
The US Agency for International Development has awarded a five-year grant to the Center for Promotion of Quality of Life in Vietnam to strengthen community-led approaches to HIV prevention, care and treatment.The USAID Enhanced Community HIV Link – Southern project, implemented in Ho Chi Minh City, ...
Study finds ‘alarming’ HIV rate among transgender women in Cambodia
The findings of the first-of-its-kind comprehensive survey were released on 29 July by the National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD Control and the health NGO KHANA. A total of 1,375 transgender women from 13 provinces participated in the survey. The three provinces with the highest ...
Thailand eliminates mother-to-child transmission of HIV
The World Health Organization announced on 8 June that Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. Elimination of transmission is defined as a reduction of transmission to such a low level that it no longer constitutes a public health ...
