CMDGs' Challenges Reflected in the Second Report on Status of MDGs in Cambodia

Cambodian Millennium Development Goals

Challenges Reflected in the Second Report on Status of MDGs in Cambodia

March 13, 2010

Chea Sophal

The United Nations Millennium Declaration was adopted in September 2009 by all 189 member states of the United Nations General Assembly. The leaders of the member states agreed to set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets for combating extreme poverty, hunger, diseases, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.

The Government of Cambodia expressed commitment to bridge the gap between global commitments and national progress, and between aggregate national and local development outcomes. The Millennium Development Goals set for Cambodia are as follows:

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;

Goal 2: Achieve universal nine-year basic education;

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women;

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality;

Goal 5: Improve maternal health;

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability;

Goal 8: Forge a Global Partnership for Development; and

Goal 9: De-mining, UXO and Victim Assistance;

Cambodia still has several challenges to overcome on the road to the MDGs. There are indications that poverty has not declined significantly despite rapid economic growth in the last decade. Rural growth has barely kept pace with population growth and unemployment is a considerable challenge. At the current pace of job creation, Cambodia will not have the capacity to compensate for the increasing numbers of young people entering the workforce annually (currently 300,000 per year, projected to increase to 400,000 per year by 2040)[1].

Health and sanitary conditions of a significant share of the population are still a matter of concern. Under-five mortality rate has likely increased slightly over the last decade and progress in reducing maternal mortality has been limited. The Millennium Development Goal pertaining to maternal mortality originally called for the rate to be lowered to 140 by 2015, though Health Ministry officials have since requested that the target be raised to 240[2].

The second report on the status of MDGs in Cambodia highlighted the major strategic orientations to reduce extreme poverty and hunger under three main theme: Macroeconomic environment, Microeconomic Environment, and Social Protection and Risk Reduction.

Under Social Protection and Risk Reduction, the report states that there are many sources of vulnerability, which require a more integrated policy response. The government will reinforce its measures designed to combat vulnerability in the following ways:

· Establishing a food insecurity, vulnerability, and information mapping system;

· Developing strategic plans and expanding the national special program for food security which is both cost-effective and uses appropriate technology;

· Strengthening non-court resolution mechanism through cadastral committees. Without land title the poor faces with land grabbing and dispute. Once the mechanism is strengthened the people especially the poor possessor will have access to use it for their land dispute resolution with low cost and less time.

· Increasing social protection to economically active groups through community-based rehabilitation services, vocational training and job placement;

· Strengthening social assistance for those enable to participate in the economy such as certain categories of the elderly and the disabled and to assist orphans and street children;

· Enforcing measures to increase child protection in the workplace through the implementation and monitoring of the child labour protection program, which includes measures of nutrition support, legal support, awareness raising, education, monitoring of child labour and provision of alternative livelihoods;

· Improving disaster management through enhanced coordination among key stakeholders and heightened preparedness for future calamities; and

· Promoting enforcement of social land concession program for those who have no residential and family agricultural production lands which account for 12 percent of the total population. Poverty links directly with landlessness. Thus, land distribution will lead to poverty reduction by providing the poor productive asset and favourable conditions.

Goal 4 of CMDGs aims at reducing under-five mortality and infant-mortality rate, and increasing the proportion of infants immunized against measles and breastfed practice. The second report pointed out the key challenges for meeting CMDG4 targets by 2015 as follows:

· Reducing the very high rate of malnutrition which is a significant contributor to infant and child mortality;

· Improving sanitation, access to safe water and hygienic conditions which contribute to mortality through water borne diseases and unsanitary practices;

· Improving immunization coverage as well as preventative and curative health care services for diseases closely related to child and infant mortality such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infections;

· Strengthening family planning services to increase birth spacing and delay the age of first pregnancy;

· Increasing awareness of proper childcare practices at family level including child feeding and diet, and proper sanitation and hygiene;

· Improving quality of health care delivery by changing attitudes and practices among health care providers; and

· Addressing inequalities in health care access with emphasis on poor and remote communities.

According to Cambodian Demographic Health Survey (CDHS 2005), approximately 8 per cent of Cambodian women aged 15-19 have become mothers or are currently pregnant with their first child. About 23 per cent of young married women have already given birth by the age of 19. Early childbearing is far more common in rural areas, where 8.3 per cent of 15-19 year-olds had given birth, compared to only 6.0 per cent in urban areas (CDHS 2005)[3].

The main challenges in meeting CMDG5 (Improve Maternal Health) include:

· Improving access to public health services among poor women. The lack of physical access as well as the inability to afford health care costs act limit effective access to health care for many poor women;

· Increasing the health budget and ensuring regular flows of funds to sub-national levels for essential obstetric care including safe abortions;

· Increasing the number of skilled personnel and ensure their placement in under serviced areas. The lack of skilled personnel in remote and isolated areas limits access to safe delivery for many women;

· Expanding knowledge on the importance of reproductive health care among poor women, as well as the effectiveness of contraception and other means of family planning, especially among those living in isolated areas where traditional beliefs still dominate; and

· Empowering women on issues of reproductive choice including contraceptive use.

The key challenges in meeting other Cambodian Millennium Development Goals can be consulted by referring to the Second Report on the Status of Millennium Development Goals in Cambodia.

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[1] UNCT (2009): Situation Analysis of Youth in Cambodia

[2] The Phnom Penh Post (2010): Ministry reports rise in births attended by trained staff in 2009

[3] UNCT (2009): Situation Analysis of Youth in Cambodia