New Partnership to Improve Health in Cambodia

US Embassy in Cambodia



The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed two memoranda of understanding with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) that will provide a framework for the U.S. government (USG) agencies to work in partnership with KOICA to support activities under the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) in Cambodia from 2017 to 2019.

GHSA was launched in February 2014 and is a growing partnership of over 50 nations, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations to help build countries’ capacity to help create a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats and elevate global health security as a national and global priority.

KOICA’s financial support will help the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) meet its International Health Regulations commitments by focusing on improving immunizations; the development of its healthcare workforce; and the strengthening of its laboratories.

The KOICA-USG partnership will help ensure that Cambodia’s National Immunization Program is better able to store and distribute vaccines and immunize more people in communities that are at high risk of disease transmission. KOICA and the USG will also work together to help the Cambodian government to strengthen university training programs as well as on-the-job training for field epidemiologists. These efforts will help make sure that public and veterinary health professionals are able to meet international technical standards and respond effectively in the event of a disease outbreak, including those with the potential to affect both animals and humans.

Finally, the KOICA-USG partnership will help develop a nationwide laboratory system that is capable of detecting and identifying pathogens causing epidemic disease, as well as responding to the threat of antimicrobial resistance.

Since the introduction of the International Health Regulations in 2005, the RGC has worked closely with the World Health Organization, the USG and other development partners to develop the ability to manage major health security events and incidents. The United States and Republic of Korea are proud to continue their support for Cambodia’s efforts to prevent, detect and respond effectively to pandemic threats and health security issues.