On October 22 and 24, 2024, the Health Action Coordinating Committee (HACC) organized two forums at Alice Villa Hotel in Takeo with 80 participants, and at Reaksmey Sokha New York Hotel in Kampong Chhnang Province with 69 participants, respectively. The aim of the forums was to promote the Community System Strengthening (CSS) project and the Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) led and implemented by the joint Forum of Networks of PLHIV and Most-At Risk Population at national and subnational levels (FoNPAM and DFoNPAM).
CLM currently covers seven thematic areas:
1. Prevention and HIV Testing
2. Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)
3. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
4. Care and Treatment
5. Social Protection
6. Gender-Based Violence
7. Stigma and Discrimination
These forums were the first activities discussing results from CLM to inform healthcare service providers and relevant stakeholders about the intervention of HIV in prevention and PrEP availability in both provinces. The goal was to ensure all relevant stakeholders are aware of and better understand how CLM functions.
Lok Chumteav Kea Sophu, Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Takeo Provincial AIDS Commission, fully supported and encouraged relevant institutions to assist and facilitate the members of FoNPAMs and DFoNPAMs in the implementation of CLM. In Kampong Chhnang province, Dr. Ung Dara, Chief of Provincial AIDS Programs, also applauded and helped disseminate the CLM mechanism.
These two provincial forums were attended by H.E. Dr. Tia Phala, Deputy Director of the National AIDS Authority, and Dr. Nget Botra, Deputy of the AIDS Care Unit at the National Center for AIDS, Dermatology, and STIs. The support from these officials emphasized the necessity of CLM for improving health services and interventions.
The forums concluded with a sense of confidence and mutual understanding among the community, local authorities, and partner organizations. There was also a request from the chief of the provincial AIDS program to conduct such forums more frequently to better intervene in the HIV program.
