Quality health and nutrition services are increasingly and quickly accessible for Cambodian women and children, staking on partnerships that build human capital to improve the quality of life of the country’s citizens.
“We’re proud of the way the project has strengthened public sector commitment and accountability to improve the availability and quality of priority health and nutrition services to local communities,” says H.E Kimsan Ny, Cambodia Nutrition Project Director with the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development Secretariat. “We’re working through existing local government structures to reduce fragmentation and enhance sustainability.”
Since 2021, 4,459 village health support group workers (also known as VHSGs) – of 3,255 are women – have been recruited and trained as part of the Cambodia Nutrition Project to improve the quality and capacity of local maternal and child health and nutrition services. The $62.5 million support is co-financed by the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Australian government, the German KfW Development Bank, the Global Financing Facility, and the International Development Association, the World Bank Group’s concessional lending arm. The project aims to encourage district and municipal administrations to support commune/sangkat councils and villages in identifying health issues, then plan, budget, and implement activities meant to improve the well-being of its citizens. For example, VHSGs are mapping first-1,000-day households, monitoring child growth, screening for malnutrition, and communicating improved health and nutrition habits.
