Phnom Penh will soon have its National Center for Reparative Surgery and Third Degree Burns

"I have tremendous admiration for the disinterested work of the doctors, nurses and other members of this NGO. They are always right where the action is taking place. They work single-mindedly in very difficult areas (countries emerging from war, natural disasters, remote and impoverished regions, etc.). The results of their operations are recognized and esteemed."

Jean-Claude Chastant

Cambodia is still today one of the poorest countries of Asia, and the overall level of the local medical infrastructures reflects its economic distress. The country has no facility dedicated to reparative surgery and the treatment of third degree burns. A gap that will shortly be filled, by the development of a portion of the Preah Kossomak Public Hospital in Phnom Penh, thanks to the action of the NGO HumaniTerra, based in Marseille.
The organization is no novice: it has regularly taken action in difficult contexts, particularly in Haiti, Cape Verde and Bangladesh. Its projects include the recent creation of a center for third degree burns in Herat, Afghanistan, with the backing of the Veolia Foundation.

In Cambodia, the initial idea was also to build a completely new facility. To maximize its chances of success, HumaniTerra reviewed its strategy and finally decided to settle for the Preah Kossomak Hospital, which already has a traumatology ward and another for dermatology. The project will therefore address a three-fold objective: create a new ward, optimize existing units, and train local medical teams in new techniques.

Teams dedicated to specific pathologies

Only a minority of Cambodians can afford to receive care for severe ailments in private hospitals or abroad. This new national center therefore primarily targets persons suffering from malformations, tumors, burns, or victims of road accidents who, lacking resources, were unable to receive any appropriate treatment. And while initially, these services will be procured by teams of HumaniTerra International, the project includes hiring and training twenty-six nationals: hospital staff, plastic surgeons and orthopedists, anesthetists, nurses and maintenance personnel.
The Veolia Foundation will participate financially in the initial investments and in launching a program that spreads beyond humanitarian action.
The aim is clearly to consolidate the structures of the Cambodian healthcare system and to ensure that a larger share of the population enjoy a genuine right to healthcare.

In a later phase, it is also planned to refurbish the fourth floor of the hospital completely, in order to increase the accommodation capacity of the Center.

Other project supported

HumaniTerra
Domain : Humanitaire et Développement
Country : Afghanistan
Endowment : 19/06/2007

Construction of a center dedicated to severe burn victims in Herat.