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The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 569

“Phnom Penh: The Ministry of Economy and Finance released information that the World Bank has provided a credit of approximately US$30 million to the Royal Government of Cambodia to support the Second Health Sector Support Program [HSSP2], which is a project to promote the health care of Cambodian people, especially it focuses on the health of women, of children, and of the poor.

“Senior Minister and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Keat Chhon, representing Cambodia, signed an agreement to accept the credit with Mr. Ian Porter, Country Director of the World Bank for Cambodia, on Thursday evening [17 June 2008] at the Ministry of Finance.

“According to an announcement of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the project to support the HSSP2 of the Royal Government of Cambodia will be implemented for a period of five years, and up to US$130 million will be spent in total. Now, the World Bank agreed to provide US$30 million, the Australian Agency for International Development [AusAID] granted US$30 million as grant aid, the Department for International Development [DFID] of Britain granted US$50, and the Royal Government of Cambodia contributes US$20 million.

“Senior Minister Keat Chhon said during the signing ceremony that this project aims to support the health strategies of the Royal Government, to promote accesses to, and to receive and to use efficient and qualified health services. He added that the project will be organized following a new mechanism by transferring and by supplying primary health services from non-government organizations to health staff at lower national levels.

“He continued that this project has been created to support the implementation of the 2008 to 2015 health strategic plan of the Royal Government, specifically, this project will contribute to help the Cambodian government to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in the health sector.

The three Millennium Development Goals in the health sector are (among eight goals):

4.Reduce child mortality
5.Improve maternal health
6.Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

“Professor Eng Huot, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health, said that over the past decade, the health of Cambodian citizens is improving significantly. The life expectation of men increased from 52 to 58 years, and for women from 56 to 64 years; infant and child mortality declined, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been arrested.

“He added that Cambodia still faces several big problems – the maternity death rate is high, the improvement of the malnutrition situation is slow, health services are expensive, health care is not qualified yet, and accidents and noninfectious diseases increase. He went on to say that now, because of the support through the credit granted by the World Bank and by many other development partners, we expect that these major problems will be reduced.

“Also, Mr. Ian Porter said that the World Bank has been involved to promote the health sector in Cambodia since 1996 through two projects: one project to get rid of infectious diseases, and another project to support the health sector. He continued that the Bank is very pleased to see the HSSP2 off the ground, in line with the Country Assistance Strategy for Cambodia.” Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4645, 19.7.2008

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 19 July 2008

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.7, #1697, 19.7.2008

• The Situation at the Preah Vihear Temple Sometimes Was Tough and Sometimes Was Not; Thailand Added More Troops; Thailand Put Sixteen Cannons on Top of a Mountain [500 meter to the north of Prasat Pagoda]; Thai Prime Minister Samak Summoned Supreme Military Commanders in Bangkok [18 July 2008]; Fighting Almost Broke Out on Thursday Evening [when Thai soldiers prohibited Khmer monks and nuns to enter a pagoda outside the area which Cambodia had claimed when applying for World Heritage Listing – now the Thai soldiers claimed that they are ordered to control it, but this confrontation was solved by both sides – the Khmer military commander at the Preah Vihear region, Mr. Chea Keo, agreed that the Khmer soldiers stay outside the pagoda during the night to avoid a confrontation]
• The National Election Committee [NEC] Asks the Political Parties to Clearly Check Counting the Ballots
• The Korea International Cooperation Agency – KOICA – President Promises to Support the Cambodian Requests [to the South Korea President, Mr. Lee Myung-Bak – Cambodia requests help for a water treatment plant in Siem Reap, the maintenance of National Road 33, National Road 31, and Road 117, a multi-purpose dam in Battambang, and the construction of bridges along the national roads]
• [Nearly 100] Minority Montagnards Held a Demonstration for Their Freedom [in front of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees office in Tuol Kork, Phnom Penh, after twenty nine Montagnards had been sent back to their home in Vietnam, after they failed in the interviews to be accepted to live in the USA]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.2, #202, 19.7.2008

• Samdech Euv [Father King] Thanks UNESCO for Listing the Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site
  The National Election Committee Allows Political Parties to Propagandize in Markets

Khmer Sthapana, Vol.1, #53, 19.7.2008

• Two Political Parties [the Human Rights Party and the Sam Rainsy Party] Asked the Government to Lodge a Complaint [against the Thai invasion into Khmer territory]
• [President of the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association] Rong Chhun Appealed [on 18 July 2008] that the Council of Ministers Should Give Explanations Regarding the Preah Vihear Temple Issue [a statement of the Cambodia Watchdog Council expressed on 9 July also concerns about the confusion created by the government, creating a new map for the listing of the Preah Vihear Temple, that led to the intrusion of Thai soldiers into territory which Cambodia did not claim on the new map]
• Is the Life of the Khmer Fishery Official [Mr. Phat Saroeun, who was shot dead by the Vietnamese navy when he and other officials tried to catch an illegal Vietnamese fishing boat in the Khmer sea off Kampot] Not Worth More Than Vietnamese Dong 5 Million? [on 17 July 2008, Vietnam sent the body of Mr. Phat Saroeun back, together with Dong 5 million – approx. US$300 – to the victim’s family, and returned another fishery official, who had been arrested during the confrontation]
• It Is Not a Territorial Dispute, but an Invasion [editorial position of Khmer Sthapana]
• Lutheran World Federation Cambodia Program Plans to Expand Its Help in Areas That Are Easily Negatively Affected and in Remote Areas [it has helped Cambodia to manage natural resources and to develop rural areas, considering the rights and the expressed interests of citizens in rural areas as the basis for its strategies]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4645, 19.7.2008

• World Bank Granted US$30 Million to Cambodia to Support Big Health Projects
  Price of Oil Decreases to under US$130 [per barrel]

Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.15, #3363, 19.7.2008

• What Do [Minister of Agriculture] Chan Sarun and [Director of Fisheries Department] Nao Thuok Do Regarding the Shooting of a Kampot Fishery Official to Death by Yuon [Vietnamese] Soldiers

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Have a look at the last editorial – The struggle towards openness and access to information happens in many places – and it may help to mutually learn from other experiences.

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