Caring for Cambodia’s Mothers

A mother with her newborn at a health center for post-partum care. (Credit: RHAC-ToGoH/USAID)

A health center midwife performs a check-up on an expectant mother. (credit: RHAC-ToGoH/USAID)

May/June 2012
Robin Mardeusz and Sopheanarith Sek
USAID

When Sok Na, from the village of Smach Kek in rural Cambodia, gave birth to her baby at the Ream Health Center in Sihanouk province earlier this year, life looked very promising. However, three hours after her delivery, Sok began to bleed excessively.

Fortunately, she had the support of midwife Hoy Ny. Hoy suppressed the bleeding—and knew further care was needed. Trained in emergency procedures, Hoy contacted the referral hospital, requested an ambulance, and asked the doctors to prepare for the patient. Thanks to coordination and a rapid response, Sok was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were able to save her life.

Sok’s story is more common in Cambodia now than it was 10 or even five years ago. Hoy was able to apply the midwife skills that she learned through the USAID-funded Together for Good Health (ToGoH) project implemented by the Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia (RHAC), a Cambodian NGO providing health services since 1996.

Out of Hardship, a Health Advocate Is Born

Theary Chan (in large hat) participates in a USAID project to improve access to safe drinking water among poor floating communities in Cambodia. (credit: Sok Kata, RACHA)

April/May 2011
Theary Chan | HEALTH
USAID

I belong to a generation that has witnessed political upheavals, genocide, civil war, drought, and poverty. After the Khmer Rouge regime, when an estimated 1.5 million Cambodians were killed or died of starvation, my family and I fled the country, joining thousands of others to become refugees in the Thai-Cambodian border camps.

I spent 12 years in the border camps, surrounded by barbed wire and soldiers. During that time, we always kept our belongings packed in a small bag, ready to run if the camp was attacked. Sometimes we moved five times within a year to escape fighting and insecurity.

Our homes and hospitals in the refugee camp were built from bamboo and thatch, and we lacked water, electricity, and land. At night, this largest city of Cambodian people was plunged into darkness and fear. Our common goal was survival.

US warns Cambodia over controversial law to regulate civil society

Apr 21, 2011
DPA

Phnom Penh - The United States has threatened to freeze aid spending to Cambodia if the government pushes ahead with a highly controversial draft law designed to regulate civil society.

The comments were made by Flynn Fuller, the country head of the US government's development agency USAID, during a closed meeting between the Cambodian government and donors in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.

The meeting assessed Phnom Penh's progress in attaining a series of 20 benchmarks in areas such as judicial reform and land rights.

'In these times of fiscal constraint, justifying increased assistance to Cambodia will become very difficult in the face of shrinking space for civil society to function,' Fuller said, adding that the 'excessively restrictive' law would harm development.

Accelerating the Global Health Initiative: Cambodia's HIV/AIDS Efforts Put Women in the Driver's Seat

U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.), center left, visits a SmartGirl Club and interacts with beneficiaries in a Karaoke parlor in Phnom Penh during a recent visit to Cambodia. (credit: Staff)

February/March 2011
Staff
Source: USAID

The exchange of sex for money remains a major driver of the spread of HIV/AIDS throughout Southeast Asia, but the karaoke bars, massage parlors, beer gardens, and other settings where these transactions are brokered remain some of the most viable employment venues for vulnerable women.

In Cambodia—where more than 10 percent of female entertainment workers are infected with HIV, and more than 25 percent of these women and girls report having no education—USAID programming supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is implementing a new approach to reducing HIV risk by focusing on the central principle of the Global Health Initiative: that the health and well-being of women is key to the health of all.

Instead of exclusively focusing on distributing condoms and conducting risk-reduction education for high-risk women, the SmartGirl program aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health of its beneficiaries more broadly through linkages to personal counseling, voluntary family planning services, clinical care, savings schemes, and legal services.

Cambodia's Food Security

A Cambodian man carries rice at a paddy rice farm in Bekpeang village in Cambodia. (Photo: AP)

USAID has awarded a five-year, multi-million dollar contract, designed to improve Cambodia's food security.

01-20-2011

VOA News

Improved land and other resources management will conserve and maintain the economic value of Cambodia's sensitive ecosystems.

The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, has awarded a five-year, multi-million dollar contract, designed to improve Cambodia's food security through enhanced agricultural development and better management of natural resources. The five-year contract was awarded to Fintrac, Incorporated, a highly-respected U.S.-based agribusiness consulting firm that develops agricultural solutions to end hunger and poverty.

This award will serve as U.S. Government's flagship food security activity in Cambodia. "Helping Address Rural Vulnerabilities and Ecosystems Stability", or "HARVEST", the Project, will work with public, private and civil society to strengthen food security by increasing agricultural productivity; raising the incomes of the rural poor; preparing the country to adapt to climate change; and reducing the number of Cambodians, especially women and children, suffering from malnutrition.

HARVEST is supported by several U.S. Presidential Initiatives, including Feed the Future; the U.S. Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative; the Global Health Initiative; and the Global Climate Change Initiative. These are all key components of the U.S. Global Development Policy announced by President Barack Obama. Cambodia is one of 20 priority countries receiving Feed the Future support.

U.S. spells out how it will combat world hunger [including Cambodia]

Friday, May 21, 2010

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. global anti-hunger strategy will focus on a small number of countries where collaborative projects can expand local food production and reduce chronic hunger, the Obama administration said on Thursday.

Rajiv Shah, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, outlined the administration's strategy, called Feed the Future Guide, at a daylong conference. It described how to match international donations and expertise with local efforts.

At the G8 summit last year, nations pledged $20 billion to combat chronic hunger around the world. One billion people suffer from food shortages. The figure climbed when food prices soared in 2008.

Key to success, said Shah, was for national leaders to develop hunger-fighting initiatives, based on proven techniques, that have local support. A month ago, the United States said it would focus on hunger in 20 nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

"We are supporting this country-led approach because we know it can unlock the potential of all our development partners to make sustainable, systemic advances toward a food-secure future," said Shah.

Investments in agricultural productivity, along with local market development and new research will result in more food and lower prices, said the administration.

The 20 focus countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia in Africa; Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Tajikistan in Asia; and Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and, Nicaragua in Latin America.

Oxfam America, an international development group, said Congress should approve a White House request for $1.6 billion to support the initiative and pass legislation to double U.S. spending for agricultural development in food-short regions.

(Reporting by Charles Abbott; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Cambodia Takes Action In Fight Against Substandard And Counterfeit Medicines

30 Apr 2010
Francine Pierson
US Pharmacopeia

In a major crackdown, Cambodia has forced nearly 65 percent of illegal pharmacies operating in the country to close within the past five months. Led by an Inter-Ministerial Committee to Fight against Counterfeit & Substandard Medicines (IMC), the shops were targeted because of evidence that they were among the primary sources of substandard and counterfeit medicines in the country. This evidence was generated from medicines quality monitoring activities conducted in Cambodia by the Promoting the Quality of Medicines (PQM) Program, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded program implemented by the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), with additional support from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and the World Health Organization.

The string of recent activity by the Cambodian government has resulted in a reduction of illegal outlets from 1,081 in November 2009 to 379 in March 2010, or 64.9 percent, according to an April report by the Cambodian Ministry of Health. As part of this effort, the government also banned sales of products from five manufacturers in the country. These actions are an outgrowth of the IMC, which consists of Cambodia's Ministries of Health; Interior; Justice; Information; Commerce; Education, Youth and Sport; Economy and Finance; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and Municipality of Phnom Penh.

The IMC was formed in 2005 under the direction of the Cambodian government after 2004 figures showed that 16.2 percent of antimalarials sampled from retail pharmacy outlets in the private sector of four provinces were of poor quality. A major barrier identified in combating the presence of these medicines was lack of coordination among the various ministries. With financial and technical support from the USAID-USP program, the group developed an action plan to significantly reduce the number of substandard and counterfeit medicines. A January 2010 official order to close down illegal health services, including pharmacy outlets across the country, was the impetus for much of this recent progress.

"The resolution in such a short period of time is a major accomplishment on the part of the Cambodian government - and a significant step forward in assuring the quality of life-saving medicines for patients in the country," said Richard Greene, director of the USAID Office of Health, Infectious Diseases and Nutrition, Bureau for Global Health.

According to Patrick Lukulay, Ph.D., director of the PQM Program, "In the face of many challenges and spotty public awareness of the dangers of taking poor-quality medicines, this represents momentous progress. I am gratified that USAID-USP's PQM Program was able to contribute in this effort - part of our broader work to combat the proliferation of substandard and counterfeit medicines. We look forward to a continuing partnership with Cambodia to address this problem, which will ultimately result in advancing the public health."

The PQM Program (and a predecessor USAID-USP program) has been active in Cambodia since 2003, providing technical assistance to support the establishment and continued strengthening of a postmarketing surveillance program tracking the quality of antimalarial, anti-tuberculosis, antibiotic and antiretroviral medicines available to citizens. The current emphasis of the PQM Program in the country is on antimalarials and antibiotics. Much of this work is done through 12 "sentinel sites" established in the country by the PQM Program with additional support from The Global Fund, which are equipped with portable laboratories called Minilabs® that are used to detect substandard and fake medicines. Other PQM activities include organizing and conducting training workshops on good manufacturing practices and other topics, and providing critical laboratory equipment, supplies, and training on proper use and maintenance of equipment to the National Health Product Quality Control Center.

The PQM Program serves as a primary mechanism to help assure the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines that are essential to USAID's priority health programs. USAID is a U.S. government agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States. USP, which implements the program, is a nonprofit scientific organization that develops globally recognized standards for the quality of medicines. The PQM Program is currently active in 30 countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America.

TV Show Inspires Future Cambodian Leader

Chhem Pe and Sophal Yun at Battery Park in New York City

FrontLines - February 2010
USAID

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—A reality show based loosely on America’s “Apprentice” and “American Idol” is testing the leadership and debating skills of promising young Cambodians.

The USAID-funded “Youth Leadership Challenge” is giving Cambodian youth new opportunities to develop the next generation of leaders in a country where the median age is 22. With 2.1 million viewers, the show recently completed its sixth season and airs nationally on CTN, Cambodia’s most popular TV station.

Each season begins with 16 contestants. During weekly episodes, contestants are divided into two teams that compete in challenges such as organizing a petition campaign or a book drive. At the end of each episode, contestants vote off two fellow cast members. In the final episode each season, two finalists compete in a debate and the audience chooses the winner by texting in their votes.

Each season’s winner has the opportunity to visit the United States, an incentive that is highly prized by Cambodian youth and helps attract strong contestants. The private sector is capitalizing on the show’s popularity through sponsorship deals, which currently account for 23 percent of its budget, up from 7 percent during the first season.

Many former contestants have used the show to further their studies and careers. Kong Sorita, a 22-year-old international relations major, used the skills she learned on the show to win an election for student body president at Pannassasstra University, Cambodia’s most prestigious university.

During the 15-day campaign period, she formed a committee that polled students about their concerns and expectations and used the data to develop a platform. Kong won three times as many votes as her competitor.

After graduation, Kong plans to pursue a career in Cambodia’s diplomatic corps and eventually run for political office, perhaps even prime minister.

“International relations is not a very popular choice for women students in Cambodia, because they are afraid of getting involved in politics,” she said.

“Competing in the ‘Youth Leadership Challenge’ has given me the confidence and skills I need to pursue a career in this field.”

In September 2009, Sophal Yun, the winner of season four, and Chhem Pe, the winner of season five, visited New York City and Washington. Their twoweek study tour combined sightseeing in both cities with educational enrichment. In Washington, they toured the U.S. Capitol and attended a congressional hearing, enabling them to see firsthand how an open, democratic government functions.

“My parents are very proud that I earned my way through the program—and especially the trip to the U.S.,” said Chhem.

At age 19, Chhem was the competition’s youngest winner and came from a poor family in rural Cambodia. After gaining national prominence in the competition, he is making plans to attend university and study international relations and rural development.

“This program will help shape the skills that I will bring [to my career],” said Chhem.

All's well that may not end well in the banana kingdoom?

For Immediate Release
February 2, 2010
Source: Eye-R-I (aka, IRI)

IRI Releases Latest Survey of Cambodian Public Opinion

Click here to read the survey result (PDF)

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – The International Republican Institute (IRI) released a survey of Cambodian public opinion. The poll, conducted July 31-August 26 2009, covers general attitudes toward the direction of the country, the economy, communication from political parties, government services and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Opinions of Muslims, particularly regarding integration with Cambodian society, were also solicited separately. The randomly selected general sample consists of 1,600 adult men and women, representative of the Cambodian population 18 or older by gender. The general sample was drawn from all 24 provinces and municipalities with a margin of error for the national sample of ± 2.5 percent and an 86 percent response rate. The randomly selected Muslim sample consists of 400 adult men and women 18 or older. The Muslim sample had a margin of error of ± five percent and an 85 percent response rate. The poll was funded by the United States Agency for International Development and conducted by The Center for Advanced Studies.

HIV/AIDS Programs Changing Male Behavior in Cambodia

Outreach workers provide HIV/AIDS education to men in an entertainment establishment in Phnom Penh. (Photo by PSI Cambodia)

FrontLines - September 2009
USAID

Phnom Penh, Cambodia—The crowded, raucous beer gardens of Phnom Penh don’t always make the best classrooms, admits Ky Sok Ly. A university student by day, Ky transforms into a roving teacher by night to educate groups of men about the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to get their attention when they’ve been drinking,” Ky said. “But most men are eager to hear our message so they can protect themselves from disease.”

Ky, 21, is one of 48 outreach specialists in Cambodia working in entertainment establishments. Operating in pairs, the specialists engage men in five-minute discussions about HIV/AIDS and sexual health.

For example, a team might approach a group of men and show them photos of five women. The team would ask the men which women look infected with HIV and which do not, in order to prompt a discussion about the dangers of assessing a person’s HIV status based on appearance.

Launched in June 2008 by USAID and funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the program has already reached 161,000 men. It is one of a series of USAID programs that target male clients of sex workers in an attempt to correct what has been an unbalanced focus on women to promote condom use and other behaviors to prevent the spread of HIV.

Over the last 10 years, Cambodia has been a rare success story in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. By promoting condom use in brothels, the country cut its HIV prevalence rate in half from 2 percent in 1998 to less than 1 percent in 2006. The prevalence rate among sex workers fell by 66 percent in that same period.

USAID has been the largest HIV donor in Cambodia since 1994.

However, in recent years men have increasingly sought sexual partners in karaoke bars and other entertainment venues, where they perceive the women to be less risky than in brothels. A recent police crackdown on brothels has accelerated this shift. In entertainment venues, it is common for male patrons to meet “sweethearts,” or semi-regular mistresses with whom they exchange money and gifts for sex.

USAID data show that while condom use is high among brothel-based sex workers, it is considerably lower among other entertainment workers. According to many entertainment workers, a major barrier to condom use is the attitudes of their male sexual partners.

A reality television show called “You’re the Man,” which challenges male norms and promotes male responsibility, started up in July. M.Style, a health campaign launched in late 2008, uses social clubs and internet chat rooms to encourage men who have sex with men to protect themselves from disease.

Ky is pleased to be part of these efforts to reach high-risk men. “I’m learning skills that will help me later in life. Most important, I’m helping Cambodia develop by keeping my people healthy,” she said.

US Gives Money To Boost Economic Performance

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
23 September 2009

The US provided $7.79 million to the government Wednesday to aid economic growth performance, as international institutions have warned of a shrinking economy.

The funds will be used to expand USAID’s program for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, which seeks to alleviate poverty by increasing productivity of family businesses.

The program has helped some 3,000 farmers increase their incomes between 100 percent and 340 percent, according to US figures.

US Ambassador Carol Rodley said the program would help thousands of Cambodians and would foster new relationships in the business sector.

Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said in a ceremony the economic crisis had diminished Cambodia’s capacity for high economic growth.

“Assistance provided by the international community is crucial for contributing to bringing high economic growth back on track,” he said.

The US expects to commit $61.8 million in assistance to Cambodia this year, as the country struggles in the wake of the global financial crisis. Some international agencies have warned the countries economy could contract this year, a stark reversal from the high rates it had enjoyed in recent years.

UNICEF Ambassador Lucy Liu raises awareness of child trafficking

US Fund for UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lucy Liu speaks out against child trafficking at a symposium organized by the US Agency for International Development in Washington, DC. (Photo: USAID/2009)

Source: UNICEF

WASHINGTON DC, 18 September 2009 – US Fund for UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Lucy Liu delivered an impassioned speech here this week to raise awareness about the estimated 1.2 million children who are trafficked worldwide every year.

The internationally acclaimed actress and humanitarian activist spoke at a symposium organized by the US Agency for International Development on 16 September.

Ms. Liu has become increasingly involved in efforts to end child trafficking since her appointment as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2004. She recently produced a documentary film, ‘Red Light’, which focuses on the issue of trafficking in Cambodia.

Effects on women and girls

At the USAID event, Ms. Liu described girls’ experience of being trafficked, both globally and in the United States.

“With no options and not enough protection,” she said, “the world’s poorest children are being recruited more and more into a gruesome array of practices that include trafficking for sex, soldiering, begging, scavenging, working in factories and on farms, and domestic servitude.”

As Ms. Liu pointed out, the most common form of human trafficking, by far, is for sexual exploitation, whose victims are predominantly women and girls. Trafficking for forced labour is the next most common form.

Creating a ‘protective environment’

Other speakers at the trafficking symposium included USAID Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham, Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Luis CdeBaca and Carlson Companies CEO Marilyn Carlson Nelson.

The participants noted that statistics on trafficking are difficult to gather and often unreliable. Children trafficked into domestic work, for example, are hard to document because servitude in private homes is often hidden from public view and unregulated.

UNICEF’s efforts to protect children from trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse focus on creating a ‘protective environment’ for them. In such an environment, people at all levels of society work to enforce protective laws. They also educate children, educators and social service providers about how to prevent and respond to abuse, and challenge discrimination.

“I truly believe there is hope,” said Ms. Liu. “I believe this because of devoted workers and individuals around the world in organizations like UNICEF and USAID.”

US aid 'constrained': Oxfam

The United States embassy compound in Phnom Penh opened in January 2006. (Photo by: Tracey Shelton)

Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Written by Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post

Report cites US aid successes but points to long-term challenges.

US aid assistance to Cambodia is hampered by resource shortfalls, conflicting directives and a lack of long-term strategic planning, according to a report released by Oxfam America on Wednesday.

The nine-page field study claims that USAID, the US government's aid agency, has achieved many successes in Cambodia but is still subject to constraints that have "sidelined" it and prevented it from effectively carrying out its development mission.

"With limited resources, USAID struggles to meet its core mission while juggling increasing demands from Washington," stated the report, based on interviews conducted with US officials, NGOs and government officials in late 2008.

The report highlights several successes of US aid, including the Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC), which has provided legal aid to Cambodian communities facing eviction from their land.

But the report also cites civil society concerns about the future of Washington's commitment to Cambodian NGOs, fears that could be linked to a "lack of strategic long-term planning", according to an unnamed USAID staffer referenced by Oxfam.

The report also claims that USAID's proximity to defence and diplomatic officials - all housed in the fortified US Embassy compound near Wat Phnom - had "inhibited" its development work.

"The closer we get to the State Department and the Defence Department, the more our agenda gets pushed aside," said another USAID staffer.

CLEC Executive Director Yeng Virak said he was grateful to USAID for its support but added that he was unsure about the agency's long-term strategic planning, specifically whether it is "relevant and responsive" to local needs.

Chea Vannath, the former executive director of the Centre for Social Development, said she was concerned by what she described as US-centric means of establishing aid goals, but noted that America contributed significantly more development aid than Britain and Canada.

She said that despite inflexible rules and guidelines, the US supported many local initiatives, and that NGOs were given discretion in how to spend funds. "Sometimes we have to be flexible, too," she added.

Ongoing engagement

Brian Lund, regional director of Oxfam America, said the report was part of an "ongoing process" of determining which elements of US aid were working, describing it as an opportunity for "new dialogue and new thinking".

He added that USAID staff, despite being housed in the imposing embassy compound, were happy to work with Oxfam on development issues.

"From my perspective, the majority of the people who work out of that centre are keen to be engaged [and] always clamouring to do more," he said.

"That's where I concentrate my interest - not on whether there's a wall there."

When contacted Monday, US Embassy spokesman John Johnson did not comment on the report specifically, but said that the United States' priorities in Cambodia would remain focused on "the development of a peaceful, stable Cambodia with emphasis on economic growth and the
development of the health and education sectors".

The US provided 6.7 percent of Cambodia's development assistance during 2002-07 - an average of US$41.55 million per year. America is the fifth-largest foreign donor to the Kingdom.

Groups Postpone Results of Corruption Survey

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
03 June 2009

An umbrella group of rights organizations postponed a press conference to discuss corruption research Wednesday, in the wake of a row between the US and Cambodian governments.

The group, Pact Cambodia, was scheduled to present findings of a 2008 corruption survey, funded by USAID, Thursday. No new date was set.

The government held a press conference on Tuesday lambasting anti-corruption statements by US Ambassador Carol Rodley, who said in a speech last week the country loses $500 million annually to corruption.

The Report on Corruption Barometer Survey in Cambodia for 2008 was supported by Transparency International and funded by USAID.

No reason was given by organizers for the postponement, but the cancellation came just a day after senior government officials said Rodley’s remarks on corruption were one-sided and unsupported.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia absolutely refutes the politically motivated and unsubstantiated allegation made by the United States diplomat in contradiction of the good relations between Cambodia and the United States Government,” the government said in a letter to the US Embassy.

US officials have declined to comment on the government’s statement.

Nuth Youthy, a senior researcher for Pact Cambodia, declined to comment on the postponement of the report’s release.

US Begins $77 Million Health Program

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 March 2009

The US Embassy on Thursday launched a new five-year health program, allotting $77 million over five years to combat HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and infectious diseases.

Cambodia has seen improving health indicators in recent years, the US Embassy said in a statement, but maternal mortality rates and tuberculosis remained a concern.

The US health program "is designed to help address many of these challenges in order to improve the health of all Cambodians, especially the poor and vulnerable," US Ambassador Carol Rodley said in remarks Thursday. "This program builds on over 15 years of successful work and collaboration in Cambodia, and it reaffirms the continued commitment of the United States to improve the health of all Cambodians."

The money, through USAID, will be distributed to government and non-governmental health agencies, including the Ministry of Health, the University Research Company, Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia and Cambodia Reproductive and Child Health Resource Center.

"USAID assistance at this time is a very important contribution to the development of the health capacity and public capacity of the health system," Health Minister Mam Bunheng said Thursday. "Our country still faces enormous challenges, and there are many requirements in all sectors."

Tuberculosis Continues To Kill

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
26 March 2009

Laying in bed at the National Center for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control, thin to the tendon, Sin Pich, 49, said she decided to go to the hospital after a cough that had persisted for around a year began producing.

She’d been at the center for two months, and she was getting weaker. Doctors say she’ll survive, but not all Cambodians are so lucky.

Health officials are facing a persistence of tuberculosis, which kills up to 35 Cambodians a day. That’s roughly the same number of people who died from the disease 5 years ago, according to USAID.

USAID ranks Cambodia one of nearly 20 most-burdened countries by tuberculosis, estimating that 64 percent of all Cambodians are infected.

In 2006, around 13,000 people died of the disease, according to the agency, which announced Thursday a $77-million health initiative, a large part of which would be to fight tuberculosis.

The government says it is working to build a network of treatment centers, but about 70,000 new cases appear annually, while many of those who die are also afflicted with HIV or AIDS.

“We have had a strategy, called DOTS, since 2004,” said Team Bak Khim, deputy director of the tuberculosis center, referring to directly observed treatment over a short period of time. “In this strategy, the patient can heal 100 percent.” However, that strategy is only in 11 provinces, or 36 districts.

The government is trying to use this strategy in all the provinces, he said. The problem is people don’t come to the hospital because they live far away. “We have to reach them,” he said.

Team Bak Him said he doesn’t believe the USAID figures. In 2008, only a few hundred people died from the disease, he said.

US helps Cambodia reduce poverty

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Phnom Penh (VNA) – The US has launched a 21 million-USD programme to help farmers and others in Cambodia's impoverished countryside alleviate poverty and increase earnings, local media reported.

The economic growth initiative, which will unfold over four years, also aims to create a better investment climate between entrepreneurs and local or national government offices, the Phnom Penh Post on Mar. 7 quoted a statement from the US Embassy as saying.

Previous economic development programmes, administered through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), have helped more than 1,600 small businesses in Cambodia increase their sales by as much as 500 percent, generating new revenues of 6.5 million USD on an initial investment of 1.5 million USD, according to the paper.

US rockers The Click Five to play Cambodia's Angkor Wat

Eric Dill of The Click Five rock band

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — American rock band The Click Five plans to play a concert at Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple next month as part of a campaign to fight human trafficking, organiser MTV music channel said Monday.

The December 7 concert by the group, who are popular in Southeast Asia, is part of a series of music shows in Cambodia organised by MTV and the US Agency for International Development to raise awareness in young people about human trafficking in the region.

"What we have is the chance to reach out and create a lot of interest about human trafficking," Matt Love, spokesman for the MTV Europe Foundation, said of the concert.

Cambodia has struggled to shed its reputation as soft on human trafficking, and earlier this year suspended marriages between foreigners and Cambodians amid concerns they were being used to traffic poor, uneducated women.

The US State Department refused a visa to Cambodia's police chief Hok Lundy in 2006 due to allegations he was involved in trafficking prostitutes.

The previous international recording artist to perform at Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was tenor Jose Carreras who sang for a charity gala dinner there in 2002.

Ancient Angkor Wat to rock with MTV message against human trafficking

03 November 2008
Channel News Asia (Singapore)

BANGKOK: A host of international acts including the Click 5, are headed for the Asian region later this November to campaign against human trafficking.

Cambodia is the first stop of the campaign against human trafficking which will see a series of events and concerts across Asia organised by MTV Networks(Asia),MTV Europe Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

There will be four concerts in Cambodia with the highlight being a concert held at the famed Angkor Wat temple complex.

The concert at the UNESCO World Heritage Site on 7 December will feature US-band The Click Five, winner of the Knockout Award at the recent MTV Asia Awards, as well as other artists to be announced shortly.

Two other concerts will be held before that in November at Ochheuteal Beach in Sihanoukville and a Football Stadium in Kampong Cham, while the final concert will be held at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium on 12 December in recognition of Cambodia’s National Day to Combat Human Trafficking.

The Cambodian tour is the first of seven national campaigns in Asia that will continue into 2009 and draw support from well-known local and international artists who will make appearances alongside anti-trafficking organizations and government agencies to distribute information about exploitation and human trafficking.

The concerts tie in with the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking)campaign, a youth-oriented initiative to stop human trafficking – defined by the United Nations as "the recruitment, transportation, and receipt of a person for sexual or economical exploitation by force, fraud, coercion, or deception" in order to make a profit.

The anti-trafficking and labor exploitation campaign will be part of a series of television programs produced by MTV EXIT to be broadcast in Cambodia and on MTV Channels internationally.

These specials will combine concert footage, interviews with the bands, NGOs and other activists about the dangers of trafficking, as well as clips from MTV EXIT’s other anti-trafficking programming, including documentaries, animated works and short films.

"Human trafficking is a critical human rights issue facing young people across Asia" said Simon Goff, Campaign Director of MTV EXIT.

"With these upcoming on-the-ground events, MTV EXIT is using the power of live music to educate youth across the region about human trafficking. The Cambodia live concert tour is a vital focal point in the wider education of those people most at risk."

The UN estimates that at any one time, there are 2.5 million people being trafficked in the world, mostly in Asia and the Pacific.

It is the second-largest illegal trade after drugs, with traffickers earning over US$10 billion every year through the buying and selling of human beings, mainly young men and women.

The MTV EXIT initiative is an expansion of the MTV EXIT European campaign, which has been helping to prevent trafficking and exploitation in Europe since 2004. The campaign expanded to Asia and the Pacific in 2007 in partnership with USAID.

Court ‘Information Boards’ Open to Help Judiciary

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
21 May 2008

Provincial and municipal courts hope to strengthen their transparency through a system of public information boards, which will seek to answer questions by citizens on court procedures.

The information boards, funded through $2 million in US aid and launched Wednesday, will list civil dispute filing fees, provide criteria for waiving those fees and will help citizens understand the rights of defendants and criminal court proceedings.

The boards will operate in every province and city, said US Embassy Charge d’Affairs Piper Campbell.

Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana called the boards “an important step toward court transparency.”

Adhoc rights investigator Ny Chakrya said installing such boards without strengthening the rest of the judicial system would produce limited results in reform.