Cambodia at the glance

• KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
• MAIN INDICATORS
• CURRENT SITUATION
• POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT
• GENDER
• REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
• HIV/AIDS
• ADOLESCENT AND YOUTH

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Cambodia has made dramatic progress since the Paris Peace Accords of 1991, but the country continues to face many challenges. Thirty five per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, and an estimated fifteen per cent subsists in extreme poverty. Cambodia is ranked 130th of 177 countries in the 2005 Human Development Report (HDR).

A focus on education and health has contributed to improving the situation. Literacy levels have improved, and increasing numbers of children are enrolled in primary education. However, the trend for secondary enrollment is not as positive, and secondary enrolments, especially at upper secondary level, remain low and male dominated. Infant and child mortality rates are improving but infant, child and maternal mortality rates remain high, and access to quality sexual and reproductive health services is still limited, the increasing number of youth, which remains highly dependant on donor funded initiatives.

Cambodia’s Gender Empowerment Measure is among the lowest in Asia. Gender inequity manifests itself not only in education but along the whole social spectrum due to deep-rooted societal perceptions and embedded gender roles. Gender based violence (GBV) is widespread, and economic empowerment is hindered by inequalities in the labor market.

In 2004, the Government launched the “Rectangular Strategy”, a tool to implement its political platform and achieve the Cambodia Millennium Development Goals (CMDGs). This strategy has played a paramount role, serving as a framework for the recently developed National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006-2010, which recognizes and prioritizes key population, gender and reproductive health issues

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• Limited capacity and resources for research, data collection and analysis of population issues
• Limited availability of data on emerging issues such as increasing elderly and youth cohorts, increasing unemployment and migration
• Limited availability of disaggregated population data at local levels
• Population issues not yet adequately addressed in development plans

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• Significant gender inequities persist and society regards women of lesser status than men, particularly in literacy and education
• Gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual abuse and trafficking is widespread, data is fragmented and incomplete
• Gender-based violence takes place in an environment of weak legal mechanisms, impunity and acceptance
• Limited services for survivors, and limited strategies for addressing perpetuators of gender-based violence
• Rape and indecent assault disproportionately affect young women and girls. Emerging evidence of gang-rape
• Participation of women in decision making at all levels limited
• Increased health risks, especially women and girls increasingly at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS
• Limited understanding and support for gender mainstreaming, particularly at decentralized levels
• Changing gender roles, especially amongst urban youth

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• High child and maternal mortality rates
• Limited resources for health and reproductive health services
• Poorly skilled and inadequately motivated public health staff
• Poor health practices and health-seeking behavior resulting in high health care expenditure, continuing ill health, debt and increased poverty
• Reproductive health integrated into health sector strategy and basic service packages, but no overall reproductive health strategy
• Shortage, and mal-distribution of midwives
• High demand for deliveries by trained health staff but access and utilization limited by cost and distance
• Limited access to referral systems and equity funds
• Limited access, utilization and quality of antenatal care and emergency obstetric care, particularly for poor rural/remote women
• Potentially harmful traditional practices associated with childbirth and feeding
• Traditional birth attendants less knowledgeable about danger signs than trained providers, and overconfident in dealing with problems
• High levels of unsafe abortion
• Low, but increasing contraceptive prevalence rate
• High unmet need for family planning
• Limited availability of long-term methods and capacity for long-term commodity forecasting
• High discontinuation rates for family planning methods
• Main reasons for non-use and discontinuation of methods are health concerns and fear of side effects
• Use of condoms by married couples and within long-term relationship minimal
• Female condoms and emergency contraception not widely available
• Limited access to comprehensive reproductive health services, particularly for young people and the poor

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• High levels of commitment and resources
• Overall HIV prevalence rate decreasing dramatically; prevalence rate amongst pregnant women decreasing only slightly
• Continued high risk behavior of men and youth
• High level of transmission from husband to wife
• New high risk groups: - married-women, children, youths, men who have sex with men, drug users, garment factory workers and migrants
• High knowledge of HIV transmission, but limited awareness of STIs
• Use of condoms for STI prevention and birth spacing poorly understood or accepted
• Limited distribution and implementation of HIV/AIDS policies and guidelines
• HIV/AIDS interventions not well integrated with reproductive health services
• Shortage of trained counselors for voluntary and confidential counseling and testing and prevention of maternal to child transmission services
• Expansion of antiretroviral therapy services, but limited availability of drugs and capacity for antiretroviral therapy management

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• Large and increasing youth population
• Emerging youth culture and exposure to greater sexual freedom
• Unmet need for information on sexual reproductive health among young people
• Limited youth-friendly clinical and counseling services
• Adolescent sexual and reproductive health not yet incorporated into basic service packages
• Social and cultural barriers to discussion of sexual and reproductive health
• Lack of sensitization of sexual and reproductive health issues among gatekeepers

Cambodia at a glance

English [ 2.6 Mb ]

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