At a rural market in Takeo province, Chin Chanthy was waiting for clients at her hairdressing shop but the blaring sound of an approaching loudspeaker prompted her to find out what all the noise was about. Minutes later, she was standing in a circle of 150 high school students and, through a microphone, sharing her thoughts about gender issues in Cambodia.

Launching Ceremony of the Cambodia Climate Change Alliance (CCCA) Opening Remarks by Mr. Jo Scheuer, Country Director, UNDP 25 February 2010    

They could be called one-stop-shop books. In them, one can look up a variety of information such as road distance from a district office to its nearest commune, how many families in one district have access to toilets, the number of women who have suffered from domestic violence or the percentage of villagers using chemical pesticide on farms. The list goes on.

Cambodia has been hailed for its efforts in reducing the rate of HIV transmission during the last decade. Yet increased engagement – particularly from the country’s Members of Parliament – will help prevent this progress from being eroded in the future.

It was another corn harvesting season in Pailin, a northwestern province in Cambodia. Nuon Thol’s face lit up with a big smile as he joined his family in the harvest.