Health in Cambodia

The quality of health in Cambodia is rising along with its growing economy. With the increase in economy, the government of Kingdom of Cambodia has initiated a nation-wide health reform that began in 1990s, which notably improved the health of the population in Cambodia, placing it on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal targets set forth by the United Nations. Along with the initiation of Cambodian health reform, Ministry of Health of Kingdom of Cambodia has been taking the leading role in health-system planning and development. The Royal Cambodian Government plans to increase the quality of healthcare in the country by raising awareness of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. In 2005, total healthcare expenditures accounted for 6.4% of GDP, the highest in Southeast Asia. In addition, in 2015, 61% of the total health expenditure had been estimated to be provided with out-of-pocket payments, which might be unaffordable to poorer segment of population in the country.

As of 2010, the life expectancy is 60 years for males and 65 years for females, a major improvement since 1999 when the average life expectancy was 49.8 and 46.8 respectively.

Major infectious diseases include a very high risk of food or waterborne diseases including bacterial and protozoal diarrhoea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever. Vector borne diseases include dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria.

Cambodia has been certified as being polio free since October 2000.

Cambodia’s HIV/AIDS epidemic is spread primarily through heterosexual transmission and revolves largely around the sex trade. HIV transmission occurs mainly in sexual partnerships where one partner has engaged in high-risk behaviors. Women constitute a growing share of people living with HIV/AIDS, comprising an estimated 47 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS in 2003, compared with 37 percent in 1998.

This increased proportion of infections among women may reflect declining prevalence rates among males, as well as deaths among males infected in the early years of Cambodia’s epidemic. Significantly, a low prevalence rate in the general population masks far higher prevalence rates in certain sub-populations, such as injecting drug users, people in prostitution, men who have sex with men, karaoke hostesses and beer girls, and mobile and migrant populations.

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