3 May 2012
Freedom of expression is one of our most precious rights. It underpins every other freedom and provides a foundation for human dignity. Free, pluralistic and independent media is essential for its exercise.
This is the message of World Press Freedom Day. Media freedom entails the freedom to hold opinions and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, as stated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This freedom is essential for healthy and vibrant societies. ]]>
Boy drawing picture of children learning in Cambodia. (Photo: Plan Asia)
Srey Snam, Siem Reap Province, 26 April 2012 - By Brigitte Leoni
Nineteen year old Ien Sophorn heads a children's council in Cambodia that works with the Srey Snam District Disaster Management Committee to raise awareness on climate change adaptation.
"Since the beginning of the programme we have been planting trees, acting out scenarios to alert our communities about disaster risks and requesting more wells to get clean water when our villages are flooded. We have a complete plan of action and we actively participate in disaster management processes," she said.
Last year on World Malaria Day, we mourned the fact that one child died every 45 seconds from this disease. This year, we have managed to slow the clock. It remains a monumental tragedy that one child dies every minute from malaria, but we can draw some hope from the many lives saved through international interventions.
More children are sleeping safely under nets, more families are gathering in rooms protected from mosquitoes, more communities have access to testing, and more patients get the medicines they need to recover. ]]>
Margareta Wahlström visits community leaders in Prey Veng Town, Prey Veng Province in Cambodia (Photo: UNISDR/ Jerry Velasquez)
Prey Veng, 23 April 2012
At the start of a week-long trip to Cambodia, the UN's senior official for disaster risk reduction, Margareta Wahlström, met yesterday with a 64-year-old grandmother who saved the lives of her five grandchildren during last year's heavy monsoon rains.
Khut Yoy was looking after her five grandchildren in Yout village in Prey Veng Province on the east bank of the Mekong river, when the river burst its banks in the middle of the night as they were all sleeping.
"When I woke up the water had already reached the floor. I then woke up my grandchildren and jumped out of the house and ran to look for a safe place. Our house was under the water during the flood, the water was so high," she said. ]]>
Phnom Penh, 11 April 2012
Cambodian Military Police Company number 702 and Hospital Level 2 Company number 801 will depart Cambodia on Monday 16 April on a peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
They are among the 153 peacekeepers Cambodia will send to South Sudan this year. To date, 839 Cambodian troops have completed peacekeeping missions, and 222 are currently on mission.
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Phnom Penh, 11 April 2012
Excellency General Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence; Venerable Monks; Excellency Prak Sokhonn, Minister attached to Prime MInister and Chairman of the National Coordination Committee for sending troops to UN PKO Mission; Cambodian Peacekeepers; Excellencies, Generals, Ladies and Gentlemen
I am honoured to be here this morning on behalf of the United Nations to farewell Cambodian Military Police Company number 702 and Hospital Level 2 Company number 801 as they leave on their peacekeeping mission to South Sudan.
When you leave today for South Sudan, you join the 222 Cambodian peacekeepers currently serving in the UNIFIL Mission in Lebanon. The 839 Cambodian peacekeepers who have gone before you have built a strong legacy, which I am confident you will only further enhance. Your work will shine a light on Cambodia’s commitment to humanitarian values.
Villagers from Trabek commune sit under the shade of a milk fruit tree during their meeting with UN Resident Coordinator Douglas Broderick in his visit to the area. (Photo: UNDP Cambodia)
Kampong Thom province: It has been a few bad years for the residents of Trabek village in Kampong Thom province, central Cambodia. In 2009, typhoon Ketsana inundated their village and destroyed their rice crop. Although 2010 offered them a reprieve, the village was hit last year by another inundation – and this time it was worse, with more widespread flooding than the country had experienced in more than a decade.
It is now dry and hot but the villagers are still reeling from the impacts of the latest flood. Many said they are sliding into debt from taking loans to reinvest in their farms and to buy food after their sources of income have been diminished by the might of mother nature. ]]>
Each year on 7 April, we observe World Health Day to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization in 1948. This year’s theme, "Good health adds life to years", conveys an important message: promoting good health throughout life improves one’s chances of remaining healthy and productive in one’s later years.
In the middle of the last century, there were just 14 million people in the world aged 80 years or older. By 2050, there will be almost 400 million people in this age group, 100 million of them in China alone. Soon, for the first time in history, the world will have more adults aged 65 or older than children under five. ]]>
United Nations mine action programmes make an invaluable contribution to post-conflict recovery, humanitarian relief efforts, peace operations and development initiatives. They prevent landmines and other explosive ordnance from causing further indiscriminate harm long after conflicts have ended, and help to transform danger zones into productive land. Mine action sets communities on course toward lasting stability.
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Phnom Penh, 2 April 2012
The Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Cambodia wishes to advise members of the public that a 6 year old female from Kbal Koh Village, Ampiltuek Commune, Kampong Trolach District, Kampong Chhnang Province has been confirmed by the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge on 30th March 2012 with H5N1 influenza. She developed symptoms on 22nd March and after initial treatment at the village was eventually admitted to Kantha Bopha Hospital in Phnom Penh on 28th March. She passed away on 30 March. There are reports that the patient had contact with sick or dead poultry prior to becoming sick. ]]>