Cambodia office to close

30 June 2009

The Department for International Development will close its office in Phnom Penh in 2011, after ten years of work in Cambodia, and will gradually withdraw its support before then. We will honour all existing commitments, which include a health programme which runs until 2013.

Since we opened our office in Phnom Penh in 2001, Cambodia has made good progress rebuilding itself following decades of conflict and genocide.

During the last ten years of our programme, DFID has made significant impact in Cambodia. An improved health care system, reduced rural poverty and better management of public finances means that Cambodia is in a stronger position than it was a decade ago.

DFID’s work in Cambodia has:

• Improved access to decent health services, saving many lives. In particular, improving medical care for children has seen child and infant deaths fall by almost a third since 2000.
• Improved access to HIV treatment which means 92 percent of sufferers can now get the anti-viral drugs they need. At the same time, marketing HIV prevention and promoting the use of condoms means that HIV rates among the vulnerable 15-19 year old age group has fallen to less than 1 per cent.
• Built proper robust infrastructure which means one in three Cambodians in all 24 provinces benefit from better roads, schools, wells and basic infrastructure

At the same time, with DFID’s support to improve public financial management, Government tax revenues have grown significantly in recent years (by 19 percent in 2008) - meaning it is much better placed to provide vital public services such as health and education in coordination with existing donors.

In deciding to gradually withdraw DFID’s support to Cambodia, we took into account the large number of donors present in Cambodia and the growing levels of aid that Cambodia receives.  Following extensive consultation over the last six months, it was felt UK aid could have a larger impact on reducing poverty elsewhere in the world, where there are greater numbers of poor people and fewer international donors.