Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Distiguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.

1- First of all on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, I am very pleased to extend my congratulation to you Mr. President on your brilliant election as a President of the 2e Special Session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS. It is indeed a great honor for me and my degelegation to address this Special Session on HIV/AIDS, particularly as AIDS has struck our country hard, at a time when we were just recovering from many years of conflict .

2- Mr. President, apart from other diseases, HIV was first diagnosed in Cambodia in 1991. Since then, Cambodia has experienced a rapid rise in the overall number of HIV infections. Although the estimated prevalence among adults has shown a steady decline from 3.9% in 1997 to 2.8% in the year 2000, it is now estimated that there are 169,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Cambodia.

3- Mr. President, HIV/AIDS is now becoming a national issue in Cambodia where leadership can be found at every level:

At national level, there is a strong support from His Majesty the King and the Queen to raise concern of our people to reduce stigma on people living with HIV/AIDS.

Currently, HIV/AIDS legislation is under review by the National Assembly -this proposed law will protect the rights of people living with or suspected of having HIV infection. Mr. President, the Royal Government of Cambodia supports the legal protection and human right of Cambodians living with HIV/AIDS.

HIV/AIDS is receiving priority attention from the Royal Government of Cambodia, from civil society and from other partners. Continuing political commitment to HIV/AIDS has been demonstrated by our Prime Minister, our Ministers, Provincial Governors and local leaders. The National AIDS Authority of Cambodia was established as the Secretariat for HIV/AIDS related response of the Royal Government of Cambodia in 1999. The Authority is working with 15 government ministries and other partners to expand the response to all corners of the country. This multisectoral approach gives a much larger opportunity to make use the potential resources from inside and outside the country.

At community level, we empower people to be actively involved in the response to HIV/AIDS. We have included affected communities particularly people living with HIV/AIDS in our planning and implementation, as well as members of civil society and increasingly the corporate sector.

 
4- Mr. President, since Cambodia is now considering HIV/AIDS as a development issue, new approach to deal with the epidemic has been mounted. An approach that is people centered, gender sensitive and focuses on the social and morale resources.
5- The national response in Cambodia is also committed to addressing factors that place people at increased vulnerability of HIV infection, issues such as poverty, illiteracy, gender inequality and abuse of women.
6- Mr. President, to ensure that greater national response are made available for the fight against AIDS, we have also included HIV/AIDS in our Social and Economic Development Plan and are committed to its inclusion in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.
7- However, sustained leadership and further resources are required to ensure that national and international efforts respond to the country's continuing and growing needs.
8- Cambodia is in an urgent need for resource provision and capacity development for government Ministries , provincial authorities, NGOs and private sectors to effectively respond to HIV/AIDS epidemic as defined in the National Strategic Plan.
. The main thrust of our prevention efforts has focussed on reaching most vulnerable populations such as sex workers, their clients and mobile population. On the other hand we will intensify awareness raising activities in the general population.
Education, provision of skills and access to condoms and STI treatment for young people - especially young women - will remain a priority , particularly the provision of primary education for all girls and women.
 

. Our next goal is to provide care to those who are already infected. We expected that up to 200,000 Cambodians with AIDS will seek treatment within our health system in the next 5 - 10 years. Our care mechanisms will need to be expanded and strengthened to meet these new demands. Drugs to treat opportunitistic infections and antiretrovirals must be made affordable and accessible to all .I appeal to the United Nations and other countries to support our efforts to improve the quality of life for Camboians living with HIV/AIDS.
 

. The burden of caring for people living with HIV/AIDS and their orphans will place significant stress on extended families and communities over the coming years. So, community support systems will need to be strengthened.
 

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Distiguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.

9- The Royal Government of Cambodia fully supports the initiatives and efforts of the Secretary General to establish a global fund to fight HIV/AIDS. We believe that this fund should be well resourced and must be responsive to the needs of developing countries and people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
10- The Royal Government of Cambodia endorses the Global Declaration of Commitments on HIV/AIDS, mindful of our commitments to previous major conferences and fora of this pandemic, particularly the United Nations Millenium Declaration of 8 September 2000.

11- In conclusion, Cambodia appears to be making strong headway in addressing the HIV epidemic. The results of the latest HIV Sentinnel Surveillance suggest a plateauing, if not decrease in the prevalence of HIV. We welcome these results with optimistic caution and express our full appreciation to donors community who have been so generous in supporting our HIV/AIDS efforts.
 

12- There is no room for complacency - our efforts against AIDS must not only continue, but indeed must expand if we are to maintain this positive trend and obtain equity to ensure that the rights of the people of Cambodia are fully realized.

Thank you