Cambodia has lived through a turbulent history during which difficult times succeeded each other for thirty years. However, for the past ten years, the country has enjoyed a relative stability, allowing for economic growth and some significant progresses, such as a 30% decrease of infancy death rate. However, this progress does not benefit everyone and cannot hide the fact that - for example - health indicators lag far behind most countries in the region.

In Cambodia like elsewhere, the link between poverty and disability continues its vicious circle and people with disabilities suffer from exclusion. In this fragile democracy of 13.4 million inhabitants, disability is not always perceived as a priority.

IN FIGURES on 31/12/08)


Expatriate staff: 9
National staff: 139 amongst whom 30 people with disabilities
Budget: 1.506.308 euro

Main donors: DGCD (Belgian cooperation), European Union, European Commission, WHO, NZA (New-Zealand Aid), GRSP (Global Road Safety Partnership), JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), UNICEF, AusAID (Australian Aid), HI Luxembourg/Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FINNIDA (Finnish International Development Agency).

The approach to disability developed by Handicap International in Cambodia has greatly evolved, and the organization has moved towards a more participative approach based on the respect of rights. People with disabilities and their associations are more than ever equal partners who work with us on projects that they designed and evaluated. The reinforcement of these partners has become a priority.

The country’s relative political stability and growth led to a quick increase of the volume of road traffic. From 2001 to 2007, the number of deaths on Cambodian roads more than tripled. Today, there are on average four deaths and 75 people wounded every day on Cambodian roads. 46% of wounds recorded in the country are caused by road accidents, making it the first cause of disabilities with young people under 17. This alarming data had to result in a reaction.

To tackle the situation, Handicap International carries out a global road safety action that comes in the form of a data collection and analysis, coordination of action, training in first aid, prevention and awareness for a population of more than 700,000 direct beneficiaries.

Handicap International already boasts impressive results: the association has significantly contributed to the implementation of a national plan on road safety and to the reinforcement of road safety legislation. The organization has also been very active in the areas of awareness and prevention.
In 2008, the focus was placed on wearing a helmet, and the campaigns and actions taken in that sense already show results. Motorcyclists wearing helmets have gone from 27% in June 2008 to 52% in December. The year has also allowed preparing the resumption of the RTAVIS project (data collecting on road accidents) by national authorities. Finally, we supported the Ministry of Health in the implementation of a global service for the study of accidents, which is no longer limited to road accidents alone.

Today still, Cambodia remains amongst the countries more severely affected by the problem of mines and unexploded ordnance, both for the number of victims and in terms of contaminated surface. Since 1979, more than 60,000 people have either died or been wounded by these weapons, leading to 19,000 deaths and causing around 9,000 amputations.

However, the signals have become positive since the country has shown a significant decrease (152 in 2008 compared to 352 in 2007) of new accidents for the third consecutive year. However, there are still too many accidents and contaminated soils, and the past victims will continue to require substantial assistance for the rest of their lives.

Through the CMVIS project, Handicap International strongly contributes to the development of the national project for the collection of information on accidents and the victims of unexploded ordnance. From the collection of information to its distribution, the project allows for the better targeting of awareness and de-mining operations.

Since 2001, the data collected indicates that the voluntary manipulation of unexploded ordnance is now the cause of most accidents in Cambodia. Handicap International has brought about some changes in prevention actions and has implemented an innovating project informing the public on the interdiction and danger linked to dealing with these ordnances. The transfer of information is also improved to access de-mining operations and alternatives are offered to families with risk behaviours. This new project has delivered its first results with a 45% decrease of the number of accidents in the area concerned, which is much larger than the average seen in the rest of the country. This convincing result opens the way to an extension of the project.

Past wars have borne their long-term consequences, leading today to the extreme poverty of a part of the population and a failing of the basic healthcare and social services. These conditions have contributed to the blossoming of large, vulnerable population in Cambodia, at the heart of which people with disabilities and children are even worse off.

With an aim of responding to their needs, Handicap International grants specific attention to the physical rehabilitation of people with disabilities and to the prevention and care of children with disabilities. With this aim, Handicap International manages two physical rehabilitation centres and two repair centres that provide services to more than 5,000 patients every year.

Apart from physiotherapy and the production and repair of equipment, the centres offer patients a social follow-up. Amongst these patients, there is obviously a large number of mines victims, but the centres welcome a wide diversity of people and types of disabilities, and even offer specific services to children suffering from cerebral palsy and babies suffering from clubfoot.

Studies have allowed us to note a high rate of disability prevalence in children because – amongst other things – of a lack of antenatal care and ill-treated infancy illnesses. These observations have encouraged Handicap International to launch the “Happy Child” project, which allowed – in 2008 – to provide training to promote the precocious detection of a disability both by the healthcare centre and by traditional midwives and to encourage a rapid and adequate care structure.

Despite the progresses recorded in Cambodia, people with disabilities are still widely excluded at the social, political and economic levels, leading to severe difficulties, particularly at the level of access to education and healthcare. Thus, the “Rights and inclusion” programme, launched in 2008, aims at favouring the complete integration in society of people with a disability.

The adopted approach aims to support - without replacing - the true actors of change: the people with disabilities themselves. Thus, at national level, we are careful to favour the reinforcement of the Cambodian Disabled People’s Organisation (CDPO) and organizations of people with disabilities.
The same precept is applied at village level. By allowing people with disabilities to meet, to organise themselves and become conscious of their rights, the project offers them the support necessary to create the local of associations of people with disabilities capable of representing them. This section of the project currently concerns 24 villages.

The “Rights and inclusion” theme comprises a third section. The “Sport for all” project, created in 2008, saw the creation of 12 sports clubs in so many primary schools. These clubs, which integrate valid and disabled children, allow everyone to practice a regular sporting activity in a friendly environment. The project provides the sport equipment and oversees the training of trainers and the organisation of competitions, which contributes to change the way in which disability is perceived both by children and by the community.

Regarding road safety, Handicap International intends to pursue its activities by aiming to favour the enforcement of the national plan for road safety by the government. We shall also continue the transfer process of the RTAVIS project (collection of data relative to road accidents) to the national authorities and its enlargement to a database that will include every type of accident.
The transfer of competences and activities is also the key word orientating our rehabilitation actions. Indeed, a process for taking over rehabilitation centres was launched between the NGOs concerned and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth. This care capacity by national authorities is a very positive movement that we should like to favour while being careful to maintain the smooth continuation of the projects.

Finally, the transfer of knowledge and experience guides our “mines” projects to respond to the wish of the Cambodian government to take charge of the entire responsibility of the mines projects for 2015. Thus, from end 2009, the CMVIS project for the collection of information on the victims and accidents mines would need to be completely taken in charge by the Cambodian Red Cross. The project for the prevention of the risks of mines will be extended to five provinces.

More info on road safety
Road safety Cambodia

More information on the activities in Cambodia Annual Report 2007; - pdf - 3.75 MB