Health minister Cheang Ra accepts the 14 ambulances from Japanese embassy councilor Miyoshi Asagi. ADB
The Ministry of Health and The Asian Development Bank (ADB) held a handover ceremony today for new ambulances that will be stationed at provincial hospitals across the Kingdom.
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The December 13 ceremony for the 14 vehicles – which were provided under a $5 million grant from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and Pacific (JFPR), as part of ongoing financing for the Greater Mekong Subregion Health Security Project – was held at the health ministry headquarters in Phnom Penh.
“As Cambodia continues to enhance its healthcare infrastructure, these ambulances and oxygen plants will play a critical role in improving emergency response capacity and ensuring clinical care and essential services reach communities across the country, touching the lives of over 6 million people in rural provinces,” said ADB country director for Cambodia Jyotsana Varma.
“The Asian Development Bank is committed to supporting Cambodia in building a more resilient health system that can respond effectively to both everyday healthcare needs and public health emergencies. This partnership demonstrates the power of collaboration to advance health security and improve lives,” she added.
Also in attendance were Minister of Health Chheang Ra and Miyoshi Asagi, councilor of the embassy of Japan in Cambodia.
A December 13 ADB press release explained that in addition to providing ambulances, the project is equipping each provincial hospital with an oxygen plant to ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply. The project also focuses on training hospital technicians to operate and maintain oxygen plants and ambulances, as well as frontline health staff to identify and respond to people affected by gender-based violence and mental health issues.
“The project has helped strengthen national disease surveillance and outbreak response systems by enhancing outbreak coordination and contact tracing, as well as training rapid response teams in risk assessment, risk analysis, and outbreak management,” it added.
Funded by the Japanese government, the JFPR has supported numerous projects in poverty alleviation, improving livelihoods and safeguarding the environment in Cambodia for over two decades.
Established in 1966, the ADB it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.
