Plan Cambodia has established temporary Emergency Health relief funds to help pay for transport to the free children’s hospitals in Siem Reap.

In the area where Plan works, many children are malnourished and lack clean water and sanitation. Community health centres and outreach programs don’t have budgets, supplies or staff. Over the next five years Plan Cambodia will tackle these issues. Currently, there is an urgent need to save the lives of seriously ill children by getting them to the treatment they need.

The nearby provincial capital Siem Reap has two children’s hospitals offering free medical treatment. But high transport costs have prevented many poor children from getting there. Plan is working with communities to establish Children's Health Emergency Relief Funds that cover transport expenses for children in Plan target areas to the children’s hospitals.

Each village has a committee that manages the fund, comprising a Village Development Committee member, a woman and a youth representative who records expenditure. The committee receives training from Plan but no compensation for their work.

“I have 5 children. Before when my children got sick I often used Cambodian traditional medicine. Sometimes they got better and sometimes they got worse. I am poor and my house is far away form the health centre. Two of my children have been referred two times each to get treatment in Siem Reap town,” says Mrs.Lim Teoung, 41 years.

As Plan Cambodia supports activities in water and sanitation, food security and community health care, the need for this fund will diminish, as communities and health centers work at the grassroots level.