In the charming village of Prey Thom, on the outskirts of the temple town of Siem Reap, lives a man named Kuon Visoth. At 60 years old, he is not only a dedicated farmer, but also a health champion in his community.
Mr Visoth’s motivation is simple: "I want to see all the people in my village healthy, free from diseases and leading prosperous lives," he said.
With a passion to help protect his community, Mr Visoth became one of hundreds of village chiefs across Cambodia who advocated for healthy actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to help safeguard the well-being of his community.
In 2022, recognizing the pivotal role played by community leaders, the Ministry of Health, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners including the European Union, organized capacity building training for village chiefs across all 25 provinces. The community engagement training equipped participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to control transmission of the coronavirus, influenza, and other respiratory diseases, and collaborate with authorities more closely on health issues facing their communities.
Driven to make a difference, Mr Visoth shared his newfound knowledge with Prey Thom villagers during a community dialogue, alongside district officials and the director of the local health centre, which covers 12,000 people in nine villages. The transformative nature of these community discussions became apparent as people in Prey Thom village started adopting healthier practices. Equipped with accurate information, they embraced more protective measures during times of high coronavirus transmission, such as wearing masks, washing their hands with soap and water, holding fewer gatherings, and being vaccinated, according to Mr Visoth.
Mrs Say Sa smiles as she holds up her toddler on seats at a health clinic.
© WHO / Aforative Media
In Dak Por village in Svay Rieng Province, following his training, village chief Keut Sorn continues to encourage his 1800 villagers to seek health care, emphasizing the financial toll that ill health can exact on individuals and their families.
“It is hard if disease spreads in the village. That’s why I am educating the villagers that it is important to love and take care of their children, family and their health,” he explained.
“If someone is not healthy, we can’t go to work or do business as we must take care of them. If a child has a fever, blisters, rashes, we encourage [the parents to take] them to the health centre.”
In Prek 1 village, in Pursat Province, the village chief and the village health support group (VHSG) embraced technology to disseminate crucial health information, creating a village-wide group on the messaging app Telegram to share information about communicable diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV, and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes and cervical cancer.
Reflecting on the power of these collective efforts, Dr Nargiza Khodjaeva, Acting WHO Representative to Cambodia, said, “We are delighted that village chiefs have become champions to increase their own and villagers’ health literacy, and sustainably use local capacity to advocate and raise the awareness of families to protect and improve their health and well-being”.
Mrs Sorn Earng holds her granddaughter while a health care worker performs a procedure on the baby at a health centre.
© WHO / Aforative Media
“This WHO-EU partnership was sparked by the urgent need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the crisis provided an opportunity to accelerate the strengthening of Cambodia’s health security for the future. COVID-19 has been a powerful reminder that when health is at risk, everything is at risk. We must invest in resilient health systems and ensure Cambodian communities are well prepared for future health threats and emergencies,” explained Dr Khodjaeva.
This project was co-funded by the European Union (EU) as part of the WHO and the EU South East Asia Health Pandemic Response and Preparedness partnership. The €20.5 million agreement supports 8 countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over 3 years, including €2.8 million for Cambodia’s health-care system. With EU funding, WHO provides strategic, technical, and operational support to Cambodia’s Ministry of Health including strengthening multi-source disease and pathogen surveillance; risk assessment and contact tracing; national laboratory capacity; and infection prevention and control.