Cambodian officials refute rumors: Cambodia has not seen a surge in HIV infection cases

China News Service, Phnom Penh, November 9 (Zhang Anqi, Zhang Yanlin) The Cambodian National AIDS Prevention and Control Agency issued a press release on the 8th local time, stating that the AIDS epidemic monitoring and evaluation system managed by the Cambodian health authorities showed that there is currently no AIDS outbreak in the country, and that the content on social media about "the surge in HIV infection cases in Cambodia" is false information.

A press release issued by the National AIDS Administration of Cambodia on the same day stated that Cambodia’s AIDS prevention and treatment project is regarded as one of the global success models. At the same time, Cambodia is also the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve the “95-95-95” goals of the United Nations Program on AIDS.

So far, 95% of people living with HIV in the country are aware of their infection status, 100% of those who are aware of their infection have received antiretroviral treatment, and 98% of those who have received treatment have achieved viral suppression.

The press release noted that in the 1990s, there were approximately 17,000 to 25,000 new HIV infections in Cambodia each year. Since then, with the effective intervention of the authorities, the number of new infections has continued to decline, falling to 1,700 cases in 2021 and further falling to approximately 960 cases in 2025.

Cambodia’s National AIDS Prevention and Control Agency stated that Cambodian people living with HIV can receive free lifelong antiretroviral treatment and be included in the local social security system and enjoy additional national social security benefits. (over)