PHNOM PENH, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 700 people died of HIV/AIDS in Cambodia in 2025, down 30 percent from 2024, said a Ministry of Health's annual report on Saturday.

"Among the dead from AIDS last year were 688 adults and nine children," the report said.

The Southeast Asian country recorded roughly 1,200 new HIV infections in 2025, the report said, adding that the new infection rate was 0.07 out of 1,000 people.

According to the report, the country has approximately 76,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, of which 71,697 have received antiretroviral drugs.

Cambodia is committed to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, the report said.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a message for World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, 2025, that more than 4,000 people were still unaware that they were infected with HIV, and had not yet received antiretroviral drugs.

He said the kingdom is committed to reducing new HIV infections to just over 200 cases and fatalities to less than 200 cases per year. ■