In Cambodia, community conversations help protect against COVID-19 and more

Phnom Leav village in Kep Province

Community members gathered in August 2022 to identify key health issues in Phnom Leav village

Volunteer village guards, farmers, a Buddhist lay person and a village chief assistant were among the people who gathered in August 2022 to identify key health issues in Phnom Leav village, near the coast of Kep Province, in a dialogue facilitated by village leaders and volunteers with the support of health centre staff.

Kep Province is one of 9 provinces in Cambodia involved in the project, along with Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Thom, Kampot,  Pursat, Siem Reap, Svay Rieng and Takeo.

One year after the project’s start in August 2021, it had trained 262 health centre chiefs and 2891 community leaders and volunteers from 17 operational health districts to conduct local community engagement and community surveillance activities. By the end of its second phase in November 2022, the project aimed to reach a total of 36 operational health districts or 513 health centres covering 5,998 villages.

Working as a team is critical for successful community engagement.

Working as a team is critical for successful community engagement. So, to prepare for the community dialogue in Phnom Leav village, everyone helped to set up the venue, including village leaders, health workers and volunteers.

The deputy village chief and a volunteer from the Porng Teuk Commune Committee for Women and Children set up flip charts to help guide the day. On them are the session’s objectives and questions for discussion that help participants to identify the key health issues affecting their community, priority actions that need to be taken, as well as who would be responsible for carrying them out.

Engaging with local communities is part of a “grounds-up” approach that recognizes the wisdom and capacities of communities to identify and address many of their real, daily challenges in a relevant and practical manner.

To brainstorm ideas, facilitators began by asking villagers to list all their health issues.

To brainstorm ideas, facilitators began by asking villagers to list all their health issues. In Phnom Leav, people mentioned coronavirus and other respiratory disease including influenza, dengue, hypertension, diabetes, joint pains and typhoid, among other problems.

Then people identified the priority issues and possible solutions, including building community-level systems for surveillance for COVID-19, influenza and disease outbreaks. The health workers facilitated the discussions and provided the right information on preventive behaviours and wellbeing which helped villagers to make right choices to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Together, the village decided on several immediate actions. One was to continue implementing COVID-19 protective measures, including motivating people to complete their booster vaccination and observing the 3 dos and 3 don’ts. The 3 dos are to wear a mask, wash hands regularly and maintain physical distancing of 1.5 metres. The 3 don’ts are to avoid confined and enclosed spaces, avoid crowded spaces and avoid touching each other. People should stay home if they have a fever or suspect COVID-19 and immediately report any such events to village chief or call the 115 hotline to seek medical assistance.

Phnom Leav people also pledged to practise healthy behaviours, including respiratory hygiene, a healthy diet and exercise. They promised to update their neighbours on the discussion outcomes and motivate them to follow these positive behaviours. 

Nun Lin, 52, a farmer

After attending the discussion, Nun Lin, 52, a farmer, said: “I am fascinated to attend such a dialogue for the first time and able to learn more about diseases and signs, and preventive measures against hypertension and COVID-19. I have so far only learned about these from the media, such as radio.

Phou Mom, a first commune councilor from Porng Teuk in the capital

Phou Mom, a first commune councilor from Porng Teuk in the capital, Kep Province, who has taken many initiatives to engage communities and is a participant in the Phnom Leav village dialogue, said: “Such discussions are an especially important time to remind people about health and personal hygiene to protect themselves from diseases like COVID-19. When people are healthy, our commune will also be healthy.” 

Uk Heang, 69, a Buddhist layperson from Koki Chum Phnom Kvav Pagoda

Uk Heang, 69, a Buddhist layperson from Koki Chum Phnom Kvav Pagoda, in Phnom Leav village, said the dialogue had passed on useful health information enabling people to discuss, and identify local solutions and roles for themselves.

“I learned (why I need to continue practising) preventive measures against COVID-19, such as washing hands with soap, wearing a mask and keeping physical distancing, and how I can help the community to protect themselves from the disease.

“Whenever there is a mass gathering event, we can remind people about the preventive measures through a loudspeaker, and we know that if anyone becomes suddenly ill, we should report it to the village chief, call 115 and go to the health centre.”

Community-based dialogues to build health resilience bring together the expertise of the National Centre for Health Promotion (NCHP) and WHO.

Community-based dialogues to build health resilience bring together the expertise of the National Centre for Health Promotion (NCHP) of the Cambodian Ministry of Health and WHO’s community engagement team. In Phnom Leav, Dr Lun Thanvudh of the NCHP, centre, and Mr Un Bunphoeun of the WHO Cambodia community engagement team, right, assisted with the facilitation and provided advice to participants, as needed.

The ultimate aim is for more villages to participate in community dialogues to discuss challenges and localized solutions, and for more village leaders, volunteers and health workers to be better equipped to respond to health crises in the future and contribute towards WHO’s commitment to support and build broader health security system resilience in Cambodia.