2007年VOA标准英语-AIDS Infection Rate Drops in Cambodia

By Rory Byrne
Phnom Penh
04 September 2007
 

Like many small, poor countries in Asia and Africa, Cambodia faces a challenge from HIV - the virus that causes AIDS.  By all measures, Cambodia should be devastated¹ by AIDS. Brothels are commonplace, illegal drugs are widely available and Cambodia's health-care system is so poor the government can only spend about two dollars a person a year. Yet despite these problems, the rate of new infections has dropped steadily². VOA's Rory Byrne has more from Phnom Penh.

Reth

Reth is a tuk-tuk taxi driver in Phnom Penh. He was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1997. 

He nearly died from an AIDS-related illness about five years ago before free drug therapy became available.

Today, about 80 percent of all HIV-positive people in Cambodia receive free life-saving anti-retroviral drugs. International aid groups largely pay for the medications.  U.N. officials say Cambodia spends about $49 million in public and private funds to combat the virus.  "Now I make power enough, that I can do a job, anything, it's no problem now," says Reth.

The number of AIDS cases here has fallen in the last decade from 3.2 percent of the population to 0.9 percent today. Credit is given to condom distribution programs and education on how to prevent transmission of the virus.

Tony Lisle

The United Nations AIDS co-ordinator in Cambodia, Tony Lisle, says the government has done a good job. "I think the main reasons behind this remarkable³ success is the enormous commitment of government.  I think very strong partnerships⁴ between government and civil society, NGOs, and other partners to ensure that we had a very, very comprehensive program that addressed the high points of the epidemic⁵, the epicenter of the epidemic, which is basically sex workers and their clients."

Cambodia is poor and is recovering from decades of conflict. Thousands of women see no choice but to become sex workers.

Health workers, like Dr. Sophal Kaing, teach safe-sex practices in brothels. "We prevent HIV from (by) using 100 percent condom use. It means she use the condom to (with) every client, even her sweetheart."  

One Cambodian prostitute says, "We have to beg the customer, we have to talk to him. And if he still does not agree to use a condom, I will refuse to have sex with him."

Despite the progress, experts warn there remains⁶ a chance the infection rate could still rise, particularly among gay men, injecting drug users and so-called indirect sex-workers -- women working in bars and clubs.

Tony Lisle from UNAIDS adds, "I think the biggest challenge for all the partners who are at the front line of the response is to really ensure that we address indirect sex work (ers) and their clients because behavioral trends are changing, people are moving to sweethearts and indirect sex work so that's what we really need to keep our accelerator on." 

Despite these dangers, experts say the lesson from Cambodia is that if the political will is there, the disease can be contained, even in the poorest nations.

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

5 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。