UNICEF to Work With a Private Group to Fight AIDS(2/2)

Family Health International has been working on public health issues since 1971. The organization is based in North Carolina and has programs in 70 countries. It does research on infections diseases and reproductive health, and also provides services. More than half of its yearlybudget of about 240 million dollars comes from the United States government.

Experts say an important part of fighting AIDS is political will. One example they point to is Cambodia. That country has been getting attention for its progress in reducing some of the highest infection rates in Asia.

Experts praise the government for supporting public education efforts and programs to give condoms to sex workers. Prostitutes are taught to enforce a policy of "100% condom use" at sex businesses.

But there are warnings that H.I.V. rates could still rise among men who have sex with men and among users of injection drugs. Rates could also rise among so-calledindirect sex workers -- women who work in bars and clubs.Today about 80% of all people infected with H.I.V. in Cambodia receive life-saving drugs for free.