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Cambodia
The Development Challenge: The Kingdom of Cambodia continues to struggle in its transition to democratic governance after decades of war and authoritarian governance. The challenges to political and economic progress are many: a narrow and vulnerable economic base of garments and tourism, limited foreign and domestic investment, poor infrastructure, low levels of education and literacy, and wide-spread corruption. The judicial system is weak and generally unable to protect human rights or fairly resolve commercial disputes. Cambodia's social indicators, among the worst in the region, reflect poverty and lack of access to basic health services. Life expectancy is in the mid 50's; population growth rate is 2%, and infant mortality 95 per 1000 births. The estimated HIV prevalence among adults aged 15-49 in Cambodia declined from 3.3% in 1997 to 2.6% in 2002; however, Cambodia still faces the most serious HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia and the Near East.
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The World Bank estimates that Cambodia's per capita GDP is $273, making it one of the poorest countries in Asia. External debt in 2002 is estimated at 65.6% of GDP, with debt servicing 3% of exports and imports. Although 36% of the population remains below the poverty line, economic growth was a strong, 6.3% in 2002. Cambodia has a large trade surplus with the United States because of the garment sector, and tourism remains an important area of growth for the economy. US imports from Cambodia in 2002 were more than $1 billion, and US exports to Cambodia were $29 million.
Cambodia has made progress: In the July 2003 national assembly elections, activities funded by USAID helped create the most open political environment in the past decade, with the first public candidate debates ever held in the country and on local TV and radio programs. Also in 2003, Cambodia's bid to be the first developing country to be offered WTO membership was successful.
U.S. national interests in Cambodia lie in reducing Cambodia's vulnerability to international terrorism and international crime (such as trafficking in persons and narcotics) through building the country's potential to become a democratic state with an effective legal and judicial system and market-led growth that protects civil liberties and human rights.)
The USAID Program: USAID's objectives include increasing competition in Cambodian political life; increasing use of high impact HIV/AIDS and family health services and appropriate health seeking behavior; and, increasing the relevance and quality of basic education.
USAID's democracy and governance program actively seeks out and funds NGOs that challenge the political and judicial system to treat Cambodian citizens equitably. USAID support sustains the development of professional party organizations, expands participation of youth in politics, and provides all democratic parties a presence on Cambodian airwaves. USAID's human rights activities strengthen the skills of organizations in monitoring, investigation and follow-up of human rights cases. These efforts also support NGOs taking on precedent-setting human rights cases with the potential to influence government policy and public opinion.
USAID's health program will continue to increase the number of health centers that can deliver an integrated health package that ensures links between HIV/AIDS and all other health programs. These health centers will include a fully functional minimum package of services, including maternal and child health, reproductive health, family planning, tuberculosis, HIV prevention and care and support, and community outreach. The program will expand work in prevention interventions and care targeted for populations engaging in high risk behaviors; home-based care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS; support for orphans and vulnerable children; and voluntary counseling, testing and support for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
The USAID basic education program in Cambodia is focused on improving the quality and proficiency of the education system by increasing the relevance of the basic education curriculum to everyday life, building the capacity of the school system to deliver competency-based education, and training teachers to utilize student-centered teaching methodologies. Impact is nationwide, with activities planned for all 22 provinces, 18 provincial teacher training colleges, and six regional training colleges. The program addresses key issues including increased attendance for females, minorities, students with disabilities, and the poor. The project is strong on reform and positive change within the Ministry of Education and supports the recruitment and training of teachers from minority groups including Cambodia's Islamic Cham population.
Other Program Elements: USAID/Washington funded programs complement and reinforce the USAID bilateral program strategy. The Leahy War Victims Fund helps to coordinate government, private and donor activities for disabled persons, and funds rehabilitation centers to provide prosthetic and orthotic devices, vocational training, and job placement for war and mine victims and those with other physical disabilities. USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance is strengthening the flood warning system in the Mekong River Basin to meet the needs of at-risk populations. In the Mekong Delta, USAID's Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade is helping to design and implement national and local policies regarding land tenure, sustainable forest management, and wildlife trade. USAID's Center for Human Capacity Development is supporting grants to Fisk University and Florida A&M. Fisk University has partnered with the National Institute of Management in Phnom Penh to develop a Center for Entrepreneurship and Development at the National Institute of Management. Florida Aamp;M has partnered with the Royal University of Phnom Penh on environmental studies. USAID also supports a partnership between California State University, Fullerton, and Pannasastra University of Cambodia to establish a Center for Community Service Learning at Pannasastra University. The Center will provide training in areas that meet community needs such as HIV/AIDS, literacy, and education. Additional health-related partnerships are funded through the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria. The Cambodian Government also asked USAID and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess the Ministry of Health's Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS and STI Prevention and Care in Cambodia.
Other Donors: Donor coordination is excellent. USAID was successful in having other donors build on its HIV/AIDS activities. Overall development assistance to Cambodia totals about $700 million per year. Japan and the United States are the first and second largest bilateral partners respectively. However, USAID is the largest donor in the area of HIV/AIDS. Other major bilateral donors and their areas of focus include Germany (education), France (higher education, training of judges), Australia (rule of law), the United Kingdom (HIV/AIDS and health sector support), Sweden (decentralization) and Denmark (forestry). Multilateral donors include the United Nations Agencies, the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission, the World Bank (legal, judicial reform), and the International Monetary Fund (finance reform). The United Nations Development Program provides support for public administration reform, and the U.N. Theme Group focuses on HIV/AIDS. With funding from the United States and other donors, the World Food Program supports school feeding. De-mining efforts receive support from the European Commission. The Asian Development Bank is planning a new program to support rural development, agriculture and fisheries around the Tonle Sap Basin.
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