Patches of Hope

Ming Yan receives health care and training at the Patches for Hope programme [Patrick Nicholson]

CAFOD partners are helping people to stay healthy in Cambodia, the country with the highest HIV infection rate in Asia. Patrick Nicholson reports

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has reached a turning point in Asia. One in four of the new infections last year were in the continent.

AIDS experts are warning the region's leaders they have only three years to stop the crisis turning into something worse even than that experienced in Africa.

Infection rates are still much lower than in sub-Saharan Africa, but the huge populations in countries like India and China mean that even low rates produce large numbers of infected people.

Ming Yan has lost three husbands to AIDS. She is 28 years old, and has a little girl. She said she had lost all hope when she discovered she was also infected with the HIV virus.

She was too ill to work and had to leave her job in one of many garment factories in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. She was left alone, ostracised because of her illness.

Ming Yan was one of the lucky ones though. She was referred to a Maryknoll Clinic, run by one of CAFOD’s Cambodian partners. They provided her with basic health care and enrolled her into the ‘Patches of Hope’ programme.

This programme provides training and sewing machines for 40 young women with HIV. They design and make beautiful throws and bedspreads to be sold in rich northern countries.

Life saving drugs

Maryknoll also helped Ming Yan get access to the anti-retroviral drugs that allow people with HIV to remain healthy for 15 to 20 years.

She has found a new community that supports her and a new future for herself and her daughter.

The alternative for many Cambodians with AIDS is to die in the street, or if they’re lucky, with dignity in one of the few hospice beds.

Texan Kathy Tucker set up the sewing project. She said, “When we started, a lot of people were dying of AIDS related infections.

“Now the women who work here can buy the basic medicine and enough food to keep them healthy. Getting the anti-retroviral drugs has been crucial.”

Children receive anti-retroviral therapy at the Maryknoll orphanage [Patrick Nicholson]

Very few get access to the anti-retroviral drugs – only 3000 receive them out of 170,000 people who are infected with HIV.

High infection rate, low resources

Cambodia has the highest HIV infection rate in South East Asia, but is poorly equipped to deal with the epidemic.

The country is recovering from two decades of civil war. The scars run deep from the Khmer Rouge’s bloody tyranny, when one million people were either murdered or starved to death in the notorious Killing Fields.

Over a third of the population live on less than a dollar a day. Less than one per cent ever sees a government doctor.

Education is poor, especially in the rural areas where eight out of ten Cambodians live.

Rural exodus

There is a large degree of economic migration, with people leaving the countryside for the towns, where they can earn much more working in factories, as sex workers, or in construction.

Sam Sawat used to work as a security guard in a factory, while his wife remained at home in the country. He became infected with HIV after sleeping with sex workers and grew increasingly sick.

He developed AIDS about one year ago. He has had to give up his job and relies on help from his elderly parents and local community support.

His wife Ta Situ is also infected. At first she was angry and afraid, but now has grown to accept their situation.

She said, “Men should not go to brothels. We tell them to stay faithful, but they do not listen.”

Changing cultural attitudes towards women is one of the main challenges of the AIDS education campaign.

CAFOD partners CHEC educate villagers about HIV and how to stay healthy [Patrick Nicholson]

Another CAFOD partner, CHEC, trains community leaders to go into the villages to talk about prevention, routes of infections, and how to stay healthy.

They use simple flip chart diagrams that highlight the importance of fidelity and the dangers of having unprotected sex with prostitutes.

Infection rates are down in the villages where they work. But much of Cambodia does not receive this education.

Monks lead the fight

Cambodia is predominantly Buddhist. The monks have played a crucial role in the fight against HIV.

With 54,000 monks and 4,000 pagodas, the Buddhist infrastructure provides great potential for building an effective response to the epidemic.

The Venerable Hoeun Somnieg works with CAFOD. He is building a shelter in the pagoda for people with AIDS, he runs education and counselling programs, and he provides food and comfort to children orphaned by AIDS.

The monk travels into villages to provide spiritual guidance, advice on how to stay healthy, counselling and psychological support to people living with AIDS.

“Buddha taught that good health is an important part of spiritual health,” said Venerable Somnieg. “The future was desperate. I had to act to stop the suffering.”

His visits have broken down the stigma attached to HIV and given great comfort to people affected by the virus. The Government of Cambodia has been singled out for its good approach to HIV/AIDS.

The 100 per cent condom use in brothels has helped lower infection rates among sex workers. But without the necessary resources, the Government’s response can’t be anything other than shallow.

Kathy Tucker says that if the AIDS Cnference in neighbouring Thailand can produce the momentum to provide more resources and help building capacity, then great things can be done in Cambodia.

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