KOICA Advances Project to Strengthen Cambodia's Infectious Disease Response System

Agreement with Cambodia Ministry of Health and US CDC on the 25th
Deployment of epidemiologists in all 163 districts across 25 provinces in Cambodia
Aiming to strengthen laboratory capacity in provincial hospitals nationwide

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) supports the establishment of a public health system in Cambodia to effectively prevent, detect, and respond to infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

On the 25th (local time), KOICA signed a Record of Discussion (RD) with the Cambodian Ministry of Health for the "Cambodia Infectious Disease Prevention and Response System Strengthening Project" at the Ministry of Health conference room in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC), the executing agency of the project.

Currently, Cambodia's national laboratory facilities lack adequate biological risk management and laboratory facility management, failing to meet the International Health Regulations standards recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and have insufficient diagnostic capabilities for new infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

The Cambodia Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which should act as the control tower during infectious disease outbreaks, has insufficient operation manuals and relies on a text reporting system using smartphones without a systematic computerized network, limiting rapid crisis response and follow-up management. There is also a shortage of local epidemiologists who can detect infectious diseases early and respond quickly and effectively.

Accordingly, KOICA plans to implement the project from 2020 to 2025 with a budget of 8.5 million USD (10.1 billion KRW) within the Cambodian Ministry of Health, aiming to strengthen the national laboratory management system (establishing biosafety and security systems, enhancing quality control systems), train infectious disease response personnel such as epidemiologists, and establish an emergency response system (strengthening the functions of the operations center and building an event-based surveillance system).

This project is the second phase of the "Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Roadmap Establishment and Support for Implementation of Three Major Action Plans" project, which has been carried out for four years since 2017 in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previously, KOICA supported the establishment of Cambodia's national laboratory system, training of infectious disease response personnel, and essential vaccinations for children in the first phase.

Notably, as a result of the first phase, 69 local epidemiologists were trained, and at least one epidemiologist was assigned to all 25 provinces in Cambodia. Those trained with KOICA's support are currently playing a leading role on the front lines of COVID-19 prevention, including diagnosing confirmed cases, tracing movement paths, and spreading preventive measures.

Through this second phase of strengthening the infectious disease prevention and response system, KOICA plans to train enough epidemiologists to assign at least one to all 163 districts in Cambodia's 25 provinces.

No Hyun-jun, head of KOICA Cambodia Office, said, "It is especially meaningful that Korea supports this significant project with Cambodia during the COVID-19 situation," and added, "Through this project, we will also hold a health security symposium led by domestic institutions to spread knowledge about infectious disease management through capacity-building training for Cambodian Ministry of Health officials."

Or Vandine, Deputy Minister of Health of Cambodia, expressed gratitude, saying, "We appreciate the continuous support from the Korean government and KOICA in the health sector," and stated, "We hope that through KOICA's support, Cambodia will be able to respond more quickly and effectively to new infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19."