Young boys take turns washing their legs with water from a well pump in Preah Vihear’s Chheb district. Hong Menea
Prime Minister Hun Manet urged all stakeholders to continue to work to improve Cambodia’s rural sanitation, noting that the country has so far achieved 85 per cent of its goals.
Ahead of the November 13 celebrations of the Kingdom’s 14th anniversary of its National Day for Promoting Rural Sanitation, the premier issued a November 8 letter explaining that the day stands as a reminder for the public and all stakeholders of the importance of improving the sector.
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He described the remarkable progress of the past decade, noting that Cambodia is universally recognised as one of the leading developing countries in terms of accelerating sanitation and reducing open defecation.
“Currently, rural sanitation coverage in Cambodia stands at about 85 per cent. Six provinces have been declared open-defecation-free [ODF] – Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Kandal, Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang and Kep. A total of 7,397 villages, 654 communes and 59 districts have achieved ODF status,” he said.
He added that this proud progress is due to the close attention and active participation of the government, in close cooperation with development partners, NGOs and the private sector.
“In particular, it reflects the people’s level of awareness of the importance of good sanitation practices,” he said.
Manet encouraged all stakeholders to continue to work together to promote rural sanitation, and offered some recommendations.
He suggested that provinces, towns, districts and villages with high rates of sanitation should be given support to earn ODF status, while also highlighting the importance of close attention to vulnerable groups, such as the impoverished, ethnic minority groups, widows, the disabled and those living in vulnerable areas.
He also recommended that hand washing continue to be promoted, with soap provided to communities via schools and other public institutions, along with education campaigns and the establishment of hand washing facilities.
Phon Sokun, a member of the Cambodian Water Supply Association (CWA), said Manet’s recommendations show his concern for people’s health. He believes it will encourage stakeholders to work harder to promote sanitation, and ensure that the supply of clean water to the public is sufficient and effective.
“Rural clean water and sanitation has really improved the well-being of the people, especially women and children. The most important change to people’s behaviour has been the use of clean water and latrines,” he added.
Manet explained that the 7th-mandate government has laid out its plans for building and protecting the nation for 2023-28.
It will continue to promote the implementation of the action plan for rural water supply and sanitation, with the goal of achieving coverage rate of 90 per cent by 2023 and 100 per cent by 2030. This will address climate change and several regional challenges, while redressing the inequality of access to services.
Through its policies, the government believes that Cambodia will be able to achieve the vision of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income one by 2050.
