As many as 5,000 young Cambodian adults will get a chance to learn about AIDS—and how to avoid it—thanks to a $730,000 grant the Canadian government has made to World Vision.
Dr Oum Sopheap, who heads the AIDS Prevention and Care Project at World Vision Cambodia, said the money will fund a three-year effort to slow AIDS transmission along an 80-km segment of National Route 4.
“We chose Route 4 because there are a lot of garment factories, high schools and military installations’’ along the road, as well as many more typical communities, he said.
The factories, schools and military bases offer larger-than-normal concentrations of young adults, a key target group in the battle against AIDS, he said.
The project will cover Route 4 from near Pochentong Airport to Kompong Speu. The five-person World Vision team will work closely with the Ministry of Health through local health centers along the route.
World Vision workers will also provide testing and counseling for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and work to establish home- and community-based care for AIDS victims. The money for the program was donated by the Canadian International Development Agency.
