From July 22nd to 24th, 2025, three impactful dialogues brought together community members and key stakeholders in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, and Siem Reap. The core objective was to strengthen the community system and resolve issues for more effective HIV program implementation.
These significant meetings featured participation from high-ranking officials including H.E. Dr. Chhim Khin Dareth, Secretary General of the National AIDS Authority (NAA); Dr. Ngauv Bora, Deputy Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, DERMATOLOGY and STD; and Dr. Voeung Bunreth, Director of the Battambang Provincial Health Department (PHD), Ms. Eng Nary, Representative of Banteay Meanchey PHD, Ms. Yann Dany, representative of Siem Reap PHD. Local authorities from communes and Sangkats, along with NGOs active in HIV programming (MHSS, MHC, RHAC, SCC, CRS) and DFoNPAM members representing the community, also actively participated.
The dialogues provided a crucial opportunity for all key actors to share both the progress achieved and the primary challenges faced in delivering HIV prevention, care, and treatment services such as the high risk of young KPs, hidden communities, limited knowledge about HIV and social support procedure, mobility community without personal/family supporting documents, persistent stigma & discrimination, case of lose to follow-up, and un-adherence of ART. Notably, DFoNPAMs, acting as a vital community platform, emphasized their critical roles in community representation, coordination, and especially the Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) implementation. They highlighted CLM as an evidence-based approach for advocacy, instrumental in improving HIV prevention, care, treatment, and related services, while also raising key issues for discussion.
All participants unanimously acknowledged the profound significance of these meetings, citing the highly active and fruitful discussions. This collaborative environment led to clear agreements and strong commitments from all key actors:
– Commitment to collaborative and supportive close working relationships across authorities, NGOs, and community representatives, aiming to achieve the 95-95-95 targets and expand HIV program-related services.
– Agreement to undertake joint activities with NGOs and DFoNPAM for the effective implementation of CLM.
– Commit to organize regular meetings with NGOs and DFoNPAMs to present and share progress and results from the CLM dashboard.
– PHD committed to providing support and taking action to enhance CLM implementation, recognizing its critical role as a tool and mechanism for improving the HIV program.
– Local authorities gained a comprehensive understanding of the HIV program’s tripartite system: prevention, care & treatment, and the integral community platform.
– A joint activity for the provision of Health Equity Cards for key populations and Equity Cards for People Living with HIV (PLHIV).
