OVERVIEW

USAID/Cambodia’s health, education, and child protection programming improves the ability of Cambodians to fully participate in the development of their country through improved health and child protection behaviors, better health outcomes and social protection, improved ability to read and youth development, and higher quality public and private health and social services.

USAID supports Cambodia’s efforts to reduce the burden of infectious diseases, advancing progress toward ending tuberculosis, eliminating malaria, controlling HIV/AIDS, and strengthening global health security. Strengthening the health system contributes to reduced infant mortality, under-5 child mortality, and maternal mortality while increasing access to quality health services. 

USAID supports Cambodia’s efforts to improve education. With a 97 percent primary net enrollment rate, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) is very close to achieving universal access to primary education. Cambodia has strengthened female enrollment and achieved gender parity in primary education. USAID’s education programs improve student learning outcomes, equip youth with a range of versatile skills, and strengthen university curriculum and partnerships with the private sector in order to prepare graduates for Cambodia’s burgeoning digital economy.

USAID supports Cambodia’s efforts to improve child development and strengthen child protection services by addressing violence against children and transitioning away from a reliance on residential care institutions. With a national goal to reintegrate 75 percent all children living in residential care into safe, nurturing family-based care by 2027, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSVY) works to ensure that systems are in place to protect children, prevent child and family separation, and provide ongoing support to at-risk children.

RESULTS 

Over the past five years, USAID has: 

  • Advanced Cambodia’s HIV response through significant progress in prevention, case detection and expansion of HIV treatment, which substantially reduced HIV related morbidity and mortality. In addition, in 2022, 86 percent of the estimated 76,000 people living with HIV had been diagnosed, 99 percent of whom were on antiretroviral treatment, and 97 percent of those on treatment had an undetectable viral load.
  • Distributed over 37,000 insecticide-treated nets in target areas and educated over 59,000 people through malaria screening and testing. Cambodia has had no malaria fatalities since 2018.
  • Helped the national tuberculosis (TB) program achieve UN targets with 90 percent case notification, 91 percent pediatric TB case notification, and 85 percent TB preventive therapy enrollment.
  • Helped build the Cambodian Accreditation Systems and Quality Standards to guide quality assessment and improvement efforts in public and private sectors nationwide. 
  • Developed and distributed (directly and indirectly) over one million hard and soft copies of reading materials, including teacher guides, student supplemental books, and story books for upper-preschool, and grades 1 and 2 students.
  • Trained over 10,000 teachers in 3,500 primary schools, reaching more than 400,000 students.
  • Supported eight higher education institutions (HEIs) to review existing and develop new ICT-related and soft skills courses and build capacity for 80 staff, as well as established five Career Centers in HEIs across the country, a new model for Cambodia.
  • Broadened opportunities for Cambodian youth, such as providing undergraduate scholarships to 74 students (46 female), including two students with disabilities, and four students from indigenous/minority groups, and training 409 youth (264 women) through practical skills building, soft-skill development, social support, and linkages to job opportunities.
  • Promoted gender-equity leadership training at national and subnational levels of the education system, including robust professional development for more than 150 women leaders.
  • Strengthened family care for over 23,000 children (47 percent girls). More than 1,600 (nearly half of whom are female) children were returned to family care from residential institutions and at least 4.9 million people were reached through the USAID-supported Strong Family Campaign.
  • Provided direct support to more than 70 residential care institutions (RCI) about the importance of transitioning to family-based care. As a result, 24 RCIs have already refocused their activities to provide holistic services to families and communities.
  • Assisted the government to endorse and roll out the Child Protection Information Management System, a digital inspection system, and a separate digital case management system.

ACTIVITIES 

Cambodia Malaria Elimination Project II - This five-year activity (September 2021 - August 2026) builds upon the achievements realized by the USAID Cambodia Malaria Elimination Project I and will intensify prevention and elimination activities. CMEP II supports national and sub-national levels to strengthen malaria surveillance, case management, and preventive tools to interrupt malaria  transmission, as well as prevention of reintroduction of malaria (which are very new to Cambodia) in order to drive Cambodia towards nationwide, sustained malaria elimination by 2025.

Community Mobilization Initiatives to End Tuberculosis - This five-year activity (October 2019 - September 2024) engages with and leverages civil society, private sector, provincial health departments and communities. The activity implements locally-generated solutions to tailor USAID’s tuberculosis (TB) response to patients and communities to address the diagnosis, treatment and prevention needs, resulting in increased TB diagnosis and treatment success rates.

Promoting Healthy Behaviors - This seven-year activity (May 2018 - June 2025) improves healthy behaviors among Cambodians and ensures that Cambodians seek and receive quality health care with decreased financial hardship through more sustainable systems.

Enhancing Quality of Healthcare Activity (EQHA) II - This five-year activity (October 2023 - October 2028) builds on USAID’s previous investments in health system strengthening in Cambodia, and lessons learned from other stakeholders to enhance the quality, sustainability, and responsiveness of health services in the public and private sectors to maximize health outcomes, including vulnerable populations. Inline with USAID’s overall strategic approach, EQHA II works to increase equitable outcomes for indigenous and ethnic minority populations, and to build local organizations’ capacity and ownership. 

USAID Cambodia Integrated Early Childhood Development - This five-year activity (July 2020 - July 2025) addresses early child development issues by improving the nutrition and well-being of mothers and children within the first 1,000 days. The activity also supports nutrition-specific interventions, including growth monitoring and promotion, improving child feeding, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and home-based food production, as well as cognitive development and positive parenting.

Education Capacity Development Partnership Fund - This 11-year multilateral activity (May 2015 - June 2026) builds the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport’s (MoEYS) capacity at the national and subnational levels to improve service delivery and increase student access to quality education in Cambodia.

USAID Digital Workforce Development - This five-year activity (September 2021 - September 2026) creates a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise-driven skills, training, and qualifications to influence and contribute to society and succeed in a digital economy. The activity also advances Cambodia’s self-reliance by supporting an open internet and freedom of information exchange, thereby encouraging competition, innovation, and promoting international standards for information technology

USAID Inclusive Primary Education - This five-year activity (October 2021- September 2026) improves early grade reading skills of students with and without disabilities in primary schools. The two overarching objectives of this activity are to achieve national roll-out of the inclusive Early Grade Learning Program and to strengthen school governance, transparency and accountability.

USAID/Cambodia also funds complementary activities through USAID global and regional projects, including:

  • Global Health Technical Assistance Mission Support 
  • Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance (IDDS)
  • Local Health Systems Sustainability (LHSS)
  • Malaria Bednets and Technical Assistant
  • Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) — HIV Targets
  • STOP TB Partnership
  • Sustaining Technical and Analytic Resources (STAR) — TB
  • TB Data, Impact, Assessment, and Communications Hub (TB DIAH)
  • WHO Consolidated Grant II
  • Youth Excel Activity
  • U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Interagency Agreement (CDC-IAA)
  • Strategies to Prevent Spillover (STOP Spillover)
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Umbrella Grant
  • One Health Workforce - Next Generation
  • Southeast Asia One Health University Network (SEAOHUN) Transition Award
  • Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) — Strengthening mental health services for Khmer Rouge survivors
  • President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) Evolving Vector Control to Fight Malaria 

 

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USAID/Cambodia - Public Health, Education and Child Protection

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