The National AIDS Spending Assessment, known as NASA, is a very important study that provides data on the actual spending in the country for HIV/AIDS in a year from all sources. While I will not give away the very interesting findings that will be presented by the investigators, I do want to talk about domestic resources and the move towards sustained epidemic elimination in Cambodia.

Current estimates indicate that 14.2 percent of Cambodian adults 35 years old and older suffer from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder – a figure nearly six times higher than that of the United States. It is estimated that intergenerational trauma - that is trauma passed on from parents to children - is rampant. Cambodians 35 and younger– most of who are too young to have remembered the Khmer Rouge – also suffer from abnormally high rates of PTSD.

USAID, through its Supporting Forests and Biodiversity project, is today providing 140 sets of forest ranger patrol equipment to rangers located in four significant forest landscapes. We will also provide training on how to use this equipment to forest rangers in Prey Lang, Tonle Srepok, Phnom Prich, and Chheab Wildlife Sanctuaries. We are confident that the Ministry of Environment and the Provincial Departments of Environment across the five provinces will use this equipment to protect these four wildlife sanctuaries.  

Cambodia has been on a steady path towards development for over 20 years, having achieved many important milestones. Significant improvements have been made in the quality of the country’s healthcare resulting in better health for its people. Important gains have been made in maternal and child health, and in the fight against infectious disease, including tuberculosis and malaria.