In Cambodia poor families from slums and remote areas have very little access to affordable health care services and health awareness. Every year 91 in every 1,000 children in Cambodia die before their fifth birthday (compare that to 9 in every 1,000 in Australia). 470 in every 100,000 Cambodian women die and many others suffer from disabilities caused by complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Our health program builds on our previous grassroots health work by working with the government to improve community health knowledge and increase the skills and capacity of health staff in order to improve access, quality and the effective management of health services.

Our work means local people, particularly women and children, can now access health services and receive early treatment, as well as health education through health centres, referral hospitals, and village health support groups. We mobilise community participation in activities to improve existing health practices. We train village health support groups and traditional birth attendants, and educate communities on immunisation, birth spacing, and antenatal care in order to improve children's health and reduce mortality and morbidity rates.

Through village health support groups, we are able to monitor the health situation of pregnant women, the number of births and deaths and immunisation rates. We are now able to respond to immediate disease outbreaks. The village support groups provide knowledge to communities about the benefit of having treatment at the hospitals and health centres.

We assist in emergency healthcare delivery. We raise awareness on tuberculosis (TB) and are involved in community testing, follow-up, and referral of patients with TB and support TB patients to access the HIV Voluntary Confidential Counselling and Testing clinics and referral centres.

Newborn Child Survival

Our program has helped to transform key health statistics in Oreang Ov district. By increasing access and awareness of health services and improving health practices, we are helping the district achieve the Millennium Development Goals of reducing child and maternal mortality. The program is now expanding into a new district and has already seen an increase in the use of health facilities. We have also developed and piloted the Maternal and Child Health Handbook in Kampong Cham province, Cambodia. Usually children and mothers' health records are held separately and are often either lost or unused. The Handbook allows parents to keep a record of both the mother and child's health from the pregnancy, through infancy and into childhood. Initial results of the Handbook indicate a positive impact on both maternal health and behaviour.

First hand stories

Nang Kham

Nang Kham works in the fields beside her husband and also cares for their six children. Chanmor, 7 months old, is her youngest. His cough has persisted and Nang Kham is concerned. Nurse Vilayvong knows it's a difficult time in a child's life, transitioning from exclusive breastfeeding to a solids diet. Visual charts showing a range of appropriate diet options, including vegetables and protein, help to educate his mother, providing her with the knowledge and confidence to give Chanmor a healthy start to life. Nurse Vilayvong has a waiting room full of families and children needing her experience and expertise. But what's been given in this simple exchange between health professional, mother and child cannot be measured in charts, graphs or figures. It's simply about the gift of a better life.