Though HIV/AIDS is a global phenomenon, the epidemic has spread disproportionately fast and wide in developing countries. Eva Baker asks why this is the case, and looks ahead to her upcoming trip to visit NGOs working with HIV/AIDS prevention and cure in Cambodia…

HIV/AIDS is truly a global phenomenon. Although some of the first cases of the virus were reported in the West, more specifically in San Francisco, it wasn’t long before the disease began to spread across the continents.

The epidemic was rapidly prevented from spreading in the West with the help of a solid health infrastructure, a widespread media and education campaign, plus a healthy amount of cold hard cash. The disease has had a far more damaging and widespread impact in developing countries, where problems like poverty, substandard health infrastructure and lack of education all contribute to the rapid spread of the virus.

'Controlling the epidemic is a major achievement considering Cambodia's widespread poverty and inequality, and the devastation to infrastructure left during the decades of violent warfare under the Khemer Rouge...'

At university I took a course titled ’HIV and Development’. At the time I remember being surprised at what seemed to be a very specific subject matter in comparison to the other more general development courses on offer, which were about entire countries, or whole periods of history. however, the more I learnt about the severity and effects of the epidemic, the more I began to grasp a clearer picture of why HIV/AIDS stubbornly continues to pose such an enormous obstacle for the developing world to overcome.

This December, I will be one of 20 volunteers to be sent to Cambodia to visit a wide range of NGOs run by local people that endeavor to improve conditions in their communities. Some of the partner organisations who will be hosting our group of volunteers are working in the area of HIV/AIDS, and I’m fascinated to learn more about what Cambodian charities are doing in terms of prevention, education and treatment of the virus.

Cambodia is one of the few countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the spread of HIV, with prevalence falling from 3% in 1997 to 0.8% in 2007. Infections among sex workers fell after the promotion of 100% condom use policy in the brothels of Phnom Penh, a city considered one of the sex tourism capitals of the world.

Controlling the epidemic is a major achievement considering Cambodia's widespread poverty and inequality, and the devastation to infrastructure left during the decades of violent warfare under the Khemer Rouge, whose rule ultimately resulted in a genocide that killed millions of people.

The Cambodian condition is not a simple one, and trying to curtail an easily spreadable disease in a country which has experienced the widespread and profound destruction of its society from the inside out is no easy task. So how have they managed it?

'Despite the relative successes, poverty, gender inequality and limited access to health and education continue to drive the epidemic in Cambodia, as they do in the rest of the developing world'

The decline in HIV prevalence in the South East Asian country is thought to be due to a rapid and coordinated response by the government in collaboration with NGOs and civil society partners. I’m looking forward to hearing about some of the positive ways in which grassroots community organisations are acting in order to prevent the spread of the virus, and how those living with HIV are being supported.

Despite the relative successes, poverty, gender inequality and limited access to health and education continue to drive the epidemic in Cambodia, as they do in the rest of the developing world. Massive medical advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS have been made since the epidemic began, and many who live with the virus can enjoy long and active lives if they are given access to the right treatment. While this may be an expected norm for those living with the virus in the West, it can be a different story for those born into less privileged circumstances.

In my opinion, if we’re really serious about wiping out HIV/AIDS, we need to wipe out the staggering levels of social inequality that continue to drive the epidemic around the globe along the way. With the continued participation and progressive efforts of locally led campaigns and initiatives like the organisations I'm about to visit in Cambodia, we're far more likely to be able to achieve these ambitious goals.

Words: Eva Baker

Photos: Flickr user Positive Lives

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