Today, Cambodia remains one of the least developed countries in Southeast Asia. 60% rural, the population lives in often very difficult conditions and there is a high rate of malnutrition, a lack of information on health and hygiene and educational problems. Even if real progress has been made in terms of access to education in recent years, the rate of illiteracy still remains high (74%).
Planète Enfants & Développement has been in Cambodia since 1984
Planète Enfants & Développement is in Phnom Penh, where the very high levels of immigration make it difficult to access social services. This causes malnutrition, a lack of schooling and little or no access to care whilst, at the same time, inequalities are growing. With our family support method, we can improve the living conditions of the poorest and most vulnerable families. We can guide people with a lack of resources every day, using existing local services. In this way, we create a bridge between the family and the environment around them while strengthening their resilience and autonomy.
We also work in the rural Kampong Speu Province, one of the worst affected areas in terms of mother and infant mortality, mainly due to the remoteness of health facilities and the cost of care. The Sexual Health and Reproduction project is acting both on demand and access to care through a community-based preventative approach as well as on the quality of care by strengthening local public players. More women today are aware of the risks during pregnancy, they go to the health center to monitor their pregnancies and give birth and they have access to the contraception of their choice.
Despite the major role that early childhood can have, the implementation of policies for this purpose is held back by the lack of technical and financial resources. Planète Enfants & Développement in Cambodia has invested in the promotion of pre-school education, including the provision of childcare for the children of workers in the factories in Cambodia. More and more women of childbearing age work in factories and no longer dedicate their lives to raising children at home as was previously the case. With the entry of women into the job market, demand for childcare services has skyrocketed. Despite this, there are still too few state-funded nurseries. Even if private childcare services multiply, they are still inaccessible to those on low wages. Within the factories, we found that the Cambodian labour law was not being respected. While the law requires companies to provide childcare services when they have more than 50 employees, this is rarely actioned. And if such services do exist, they are sometimes managed by unqualified factory workers who are unable to provide a quality service.
Planète Enfants & Développement wants to launch a project for working women, offering them the opportunity to have their children looked after in 6 trial factories. Through this project, we will support the Government’s desire, as well as that of its local partners, to improve the lives of working women and their children by providing reliable infrastructure and a quality service.
Area: 181 035 km2
Population: 15.1 million
Capital: Phnom Penh
Life expectancy: 72 years
Literacy rate: 74%
Religions: Buddhism 96.9%, Islam 2.5%, Christianity 0.3%
Human development index: 136th / 187
Official language: Khmer
Source: French Embassy in Cambodia – 2015