Cambodia Cares: Implementing a Continuum of Care for PLHA, Including ART in Moung Russey, Cambodia

Mr. Nun (a pseudonym) is one of many Cambodians who suffer from AIDS. What is unique about Mr. Nun is that his physical condition is better now than it was last year and that his improvement happened after receiving HIV care and treatment from a local hospital. Mr. Nun is the beneficiary of a new collaborative initiative in Moung Russey Operational District (OD) between the district health services, the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STD (NCHADS), communities, people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA), and international and local non-government organizations. These partners have worked together to improve health services for PLHA by instituting a continuum of care (CoC) for HIV/AIDS clients that provides complementary health care services in both the hospital as well as in the clients’ homes.

In less than six months, with a strategic set of inputs, this partnership has implemented specially designed services in the Moung Russey Referral Hospital (RH) that prevent HIV infection, provide testing and counseling for suspected HIV cases, and make available diagnostic and treatment services for PLHA suffering from HIV-related illnesses such as opportunistic infections (OIs) and TB, including the provision of INH preventive therapy (IPT) for PLHA.