by Shobha Shukla
Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said Cambodia’s recent achievement of meeting the 95-95-95 HIV targets demonstrates what determined national leadership and community partnership can achieve. Cambodia is the first and only country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so so far.
These goals indicate that 95 percent of people know their HIV status, 95 percent of people receive life-saving antiretroviral therapy, and 95 percent of those receiving treatment have an undetectable viral load. An undetectable viral load is vital because undetectable equals untransmissible, as there is no risk of any further transmission of HIV and the person remains healthy and lives a normal life.
The latest UNAIDS 2026 report released two weeks ago indicates that by 2025, 14 countries around the world will have achieved the 95-95-95 HIV target: Botswana, Cambodia, Denmark, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Eamonn Murphy of UNAIDS added that these experiences show that sustainable progress depends on real partnerships between governments, health systems and communities. These success stories also demonstrate that investing in communities is not just a socially just investment – it is also good for public health.
95-100-98 in Cambodia
More than 95% of people living with HIV in Cambodia know their status, 100% of them receive life-saving antiretroviral therapy, and 98% of those receiving treatment achieve an undetectable viral load, said Dr. Ok Vichea, head of the Cambodian government’s HIV program. Dr. Vecchia is the Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (NCHADS) at the Ministry of Health of Cambodia. “Cambodia’s progress in the HIV response provides a clear lesson: ambitious public health goals can be achieved when political leadership, evidence-based action, and local communities work together.” Dr. Oak stressed that the achievement is not just a technical success. It reflects strong leadership and commitment, as well as the ability to turn evidence and innovation into action.
Likewise, Chub Sok Chamron, Executive Director of Khanna Cambodia, attributed the country’s achievement in the fight against HIV to the strong partnership that has been in place since the beginning of the response. “Cambodia’s success is due to a very strong partnership from the beginning,” he said, describing how government, civil society, communities and people living with HIV worked together to shape and implement the response.
Political leadership has turned commitment into action
Dr Ok said Cambodia’s progress was rooted in sustained political commitment. For decades, leadership through the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Cambodian National Authority and the Ministry of Health has helped keep HIV on the national agenda. He explained that this commitment goes beyond statements. It has produced clear policies, coordinated multisectoral action, and collaboration with development partners, including UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), and others.
For Shamron, government leadership was equally important. From the beginning, the government took full leadership and brought stakeholders together to determine what to do and how to address the challenges.
This approach has created space for key populations and people living with HIV to participate in the response – not just as people to be consulted, but as participants in service delivery and monitoring.
Communities move from consultation to leadership
High-impact HIV and TB interventions require investment in local communities, Shamron said. He said that consultation alone is not enough. Key population groups must be involved in planning and implementation and must be “at the forefront” of the programming process.
In Cambodia, people living with HIV and key populations were closely involved in service delivery. This includes gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who use and inject drugs, and female entertainment workers.
Community engagement also helps identify gaps in service quality. People with lived experience of HIV and the needs of their communities can work alongside health professionals to monitor, monitor and improve services. For Shamron, this is especially important in places and situations where government services may have difficulty reaching people.
Community workers can work in remote areas, at night and on weekends, while also reaching people who may remain hidden due to stigma and discrimination.
A network of frontline workers
The scale of community engagement is reflected in the numbers cited by Shamron from KHANA Cambodia programs. The HIV response includes 153 outreach workers in one program, 49 outreach workers serving female entertainment workers, and 153 outreach workers reaching gay men, other men who have sex with men, and transgender groups. The TB response includes 309 volunteers involved in providing services.
These networks illustrate the practical meaning of a community-led response. Rather than treating communities as recipients of services, the model places them directly within the service delivery system.
Shamron said people living with HIV and members of key populations understand the problems and needs of their communities because they have direct experience with them. This lived knowledge can make them valuable partners to the government, especially in places where official services cannot easily reach them.
Innovation and data fuel response
Political commitment and community leadership have been strengthened through innovation and the use of data. Dr. Ok described Cambodia’s approach to developing joint HIV prevention strategies rather than relying on a single intervention. The country has expanded differentiated HIV testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and other new HIV prevention tools, while also integrating services to help close prevention gaps, especially among key populations.
Data has also become a key component of the decision-making process
Cambodia uses what Dr. Oak described as a “triangle” of routine program data, integrated biological and behavioral surveillance (IBBS), and community surveillance data. The goal is to identify gaps and adjust the response so that programs remain targeted and responsive. Therefore, the focus is not just on making services available, but on making them accessible, acceptable and reliable.
Progress has not eliminated gaps
Dr. Oak pointed to the continuing gap between what is known and what is being done. New HIV infections remain concentrated among key population groups, while structural barriers – including stigma, discrimination and social inequality – continue to restrict access to services for the most vulnerable people. This means that Cambodia should rely on the factors that led to its progress rather than treating the 95-95-95 achievement as an end point.
For Shamron, the same principle applies to HIV and TB more broadly. Government, civil society and local communities must continue to work together, especially when resources are limited.
Partnership is important even when financing is difficult
As financing conditions become more difficult, it becomes increasingly important to sustain health responses. Shamron says partnerships become even more important when funding declines. Splitting efforts can increase costs, while collaboration allows organizations and institutions to share expertise and resources to support life-saving community work. Dr. Oke also called for sustained political leadership in the context of declining external funding, coupled with increased domestic funding, especially for prevention and community-based responses.
He also stressed the need to scale up innovation and ensure new approaches reach the people who need them most. The message is clear and direct: financial constraints make cooperation more – not less – important.
Cambodia is entering a new phase
Dr. Ok described Cambodia as entering a new phase focused on increasing state ownership and sustainability. He stressed that achieving the 95-95-95 goal is a milestone and not an end point. The challenge now is to sustain the gains, deepen the response and make it more equitable. This will require sustained political commitment, local investment, innovation, and community leadership.
Likewise, Shamron’s message looks to the future. The response must continue to recognize people living with HIV and the most affected communities as essential partners in solving problems. He said their experience provides insight into what communities need and where current services are lacking.
A lesson in turning possibility into action
So Cambodia’s achievement in the fight against HIV is not just a digital achievement, but an example of what sustainable cooperation can achieve. Dr. Oak and Chamron explain it from different perspectives: leadership creates direction, partnership connects the system, innovation strengthens it, and communities make services reach the people who need them.
Dr. Ok summarized Cambodia’s experience as evidence that it is possible to bridge the gap between knowing what works and actually putting it into practice. For Shamron, the lesson is more direct: when government, civil society, communities and people with lived experiences work together, what seems impossible can become possible.
(Shobha Shukla is a feminist activist and advocate for health and development justice. She serves as Chair of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Media Alliance (GAMA), host and coordinator of SHE & Right (Sexual Health with Equity & Rights), Chair of the Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health, Gender and Developmental Justice (APCAT Media), and founding leader of the DJOP (Development Justice for Older People) initiative.
