It’s a balmy February afternoon in Phnom Penh, and Seum Sophal sits in front of his laptop, dressed in a cheery orange tropical button-down. It’s a busy day for him, as always—the long-time advocate is currently an officer for the Forum of Networks of People Living with HIV and MARPs (FoNPAM) program of Cambodia’s Health Action Coordinating Committee (HACC), a network of local and international NGOs providing general health services and coordinating health programs in the region.
According to 2024 data from UNAIDS, there are an estimated 76,000 persons living with HIV (PLHIV) in the country; programs like FoNPAM play a crucial role in helping these individuals enjoy a decent quality of life. For PLHIVs in Cambodia, this is particularly important work.
“In Cambodia, the poorest population is the people living with HIV,” Seum says. When a person is diagnosed with HIV, the stigma surrounding the virus often leads to them losing their jobs, forcing them to move to rural areas where the cost of living may be lower.
It’s a situation all too familiar to Seum, who experienced it firsthand when he was diagnosed over 10 years ago.
“[I felt] stressed and hopeless. Six years or ten years ago, most [PLHIVs] were hopeless. When they first tested HIV-positive, during that time, the doctors said that if your antibodies are quite strong, you can survive six years to ten years. So imagine, when this message comes into our brain, it’s like we are hopeless,” he shares.
Seum lived in his village for nearly five years before seeking work elsewhere. Others, however, stay in the countryside for lack of opportunity, motivation, or capability. In recent years, climate change has put this already vulnerable population at greater risk.