Cambodia

In Cambodia, poverty has a rural face. Access to markets and social services for the rural population is inadequate. Therefore, KfW finances rural roads, bridges, local markets and social facilities in the name of the Federal Government.

These investments improve the economic and social living conditions of one million people in multiple ways. Better roads guarantee accessibility throughout the year, shorten journey times and lower transport costs. People, who were previously isolated, now are able to send their children to school and reach health care stations and hospitals more quickly. Thanks to the roads, the subsistence farmers can also produce goods for the market, and in turn generate higher incomes. Impact analysis shows that income of small scale farmers, living in the catchment area of the projects, increased by up to 200 per cent.

In addition, there are often power blackouts in rural areas. At the same time the price for electricity in Cambodia is amongst the highest in Asia. These two factors impede economic development. For this reason, KfW is investing in electricity supply of remote provinces. This contributes to increasing the reliability of power supply and to reducing electricity losses. By this means, additional household connections are made possible and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

Project information - Rural Development  (PDF, 150 KB, non-accessible)

Despite all the progress in health care provision, too many mothers and babies still die in Cambodia. Every second birth still is a home-birth and every fourth one takes place without the presence of a doctor or a qualified midwife. One of KfW's most important issues in Cambodia is lowering the infant and maternal mortality rates and supporting women in family planning matters.

Together with other donors, KfW, in the name of the Federal Government, supports the Cambodian health reform programme and a programme for nutrition security through so called basket financings. Primarily, these measures aim at improving the management and the quality of healthcare services and better access for vulnerable parts of the population. Likewise, chronic diseases are becoming an increasing challenge for the country. More than 50 per cent of all deaths are caused by noncommunicable diseases. These primarily are cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes.

Thanks to German support, more and more people now have access to healthcare services with improved quality of medical treatment.

Project information - Health  (PDF, 149 KB, non-accessible)