The Kingdom of Cambodia covering an area of 181,035 sq. km. is located in south-east Asia and shares borders with Vietnam to the east, Lao PDR to the north, Thailand to the west, and the ocean coast to the south-west. The country is divided into 24 provinces and one municipality, the capital, Phnom Penh. Khmer is the official language spoken by 90% of the population.
Peace and stability have been re-established in the country after two decades of conflict and civil war, since the signing of the Paris Peace Accord in 1991. The country’s first national elections were held in 1993 and the Constitution was promulgated on 21 September 1993.
Cambodia is making firm efforts to move toward the status of a middle-income country. The country’s development is guided by the Vision 2020 strategy, as well as the National Strategic Development Plan and the Rectangular Strategy for Growth, Employment, Equity and Efficiency.
A situational analysis on the state of health financing in Cambodia points to inadequate access to health services for the most vulnerable populations, and a high out of pocket spending which is more than 60% of the total health expenditure. There has been a chronic misalignment of public funding with priorities in the health sector. The public health sector in Cambodia is characterised by a low level of salaries and incentives for staff impacting service delivery. The health sector is also characterised by high utilisation of unregulated private providers.