Speed boat ambulance provided by MERCY Malaysia

Earlier this year MERCY Malaysia completed a wide ranging project to upgrade the services in four health centres in Kampong Leang District, Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia, especially in Kampong Hav Health Centre.

The key objectives of the project, which ran from February 2009 to March 2010, were to improve the quality and coverage of the general medical services of the targeted health centres and to promote best hygiene practices and health education in the surrounding communities. Many different activities were undertaken during the project, these include:

• Refurbishment of Kampong Hav Health Centre, including building a new kitchen, latrines, replacement of doors and windows, general plumbing, electrical & sanitary fittings and a new bathroom in the maternity ward.
• New medical equipment and relevant drugs and supplements were supplied to the same health centre to ensure improved quality of service.
• Five ambulances (1 speedboat and 4 tuk-tuks) were provided to the health centres to improve the referral system and increase the area they can serve.
• A 5-day refresher training programme was conducted for all 36 staff from the four health centres. It covered areas such as health management, diagnosis and treatment of general diseases, and behavioural change communication.
• A health & hygiene-related outreach programme was conducted for community members in 17 villages surrounding the health centres. A wide range of topics were covered including birth preparedness, breast feeding, HIV/AIDS awareness, skin diseases, body hygiene and dengue fever. A total of 12 Outreach Programme sessions were conducted, covering community members from 17 villages. Almost 12,000 community members participated in the sessions.

Community members participating in a workshop as part of the Outreach Programme

The project in Kampong Leang was a great success. The Ministry of Health and the local health authorities were greatly impressed with the achievements resulting from the project, which led to the offering of National Building Gold Medal by the Royal Government of Cambodia to MERCY Malaysia.

It will provide a model for consolidating MERCY Malaysia’s presence in Cambodia, where we have been working since year 2001. There are plans for this project to be replicated in many different parts of the Kingdom.

Wendy Neoh
Senior Programme Officer