Earlier this year, RESULTS UK led a cross party parliamentary delegation to Cambodia, and today we launch Steady Progress in Cambodia, a report which outlines our findings and recommendations from our experiences in South-East Asia.
The trip explored in detail some of the remaining health challenges in Cambodia’s, particularly its high rates of TB and under-five child mortality. The delegation was attended by Baroness Alison Suttie, Mark Pawsey MP, Michael Connarty MP and Nic Dakin MP, as well as RESULTS staff members Megan Wilson-Jones and Steve Lewis. Then Health Advocacy Officer Jess Kuehne and RESULTS board member Reg Davis also attended the delegation.
Cambodia is a nation that has made significant progress since its health system and infrastructure were devastated by Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s. From a workforce of 600 doctors, there remained only 50 after the fall of the regime. This report details how progress has been made, but also highlights that significant challenges remain.
The delegation visited a number of sites in connection with the health and education challenges faced in Cambodia, including community health centres working with TB patients through projects supported by TB REACH and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM). The site visits illustrated Cambodia’s continuing struggle as one of 22 high burden TB countries and showed the importance of continuing the international aid that has seen 40,000 individuals diagnosed and treated for the disease since 2003. The report also details findings from the delegation’s visit to the Samdech Ov Hospital, where participants learned about the importance of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s work in increasing rotine immunisation coverage from 60% to 95% in just 10 years (2002 to 2012). Despite this, there are still 14,000 children under the age of five in Cambodia who die from mostly preventable and treatable disease every year, a challenge that must be addressed.
The delegation’s visit to the Ang Suong Primary School in Cambodia’s Takei Province, an institution supported by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), is also discussed in the report.  Cambodia has received $38 million of funding since 2006 from the GPE to improve the country’s education system, which has helped to reduce the number of out of school children in Cambodia by 60,000 in just five years (2006 to 2011). Again, progress has been remarkable, but challenges remain. In the case of education, it is not only about getting children into school, it is also critical that the quality of education is high.
The report highlights a number of key findings from the delegation and includes recommendations for both the UK Government and the Cambodian Government. It is vital that the progress seen in Cambodia does not stall and that investment in health spending, especially to address TB and under-five child mortality, remains a priority. The linked nature of health and education is also a key aspect of the report, and it is made clear that future progress in the health, well-being, and economic status of the people of Cambodia relies on a comprehensive and cross-cutting approach to development.
You can read the report here.
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