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Thursday, June 28, 2007

Dengue deaths sweeping Cambodia highlight healthcare failures


KROUCH CHHMAR VILLAGE - Saing Ratha lies semi-conscious, her thin body shaking with fever as her mother tries desperately to cool her by placing blocks of ice under her arms.

Her 10-year-old bother Saing Sokun lies curled around a block of ice next to her in this spartan rural clinic.

Both have been struck down by dengue fever that has killed almost as many children in the first six months of this year as during the whole of 2006 in an outbreak that is expected to worsen with an early monsoon.

"In my village every house has been afflicted by dengue -- in some homes all the children are sick," says the children's mother, Chhiv Thy, as she wipes down the 13-year-old girl's body with wet towels.

For five days they have lain on crude wooden beds in a small alcove off one of the clinic's wings. Saline drips are tied to metal posts and the windowsill next to their cots is piled high with cooking pots and dirty plates.

Chhiv Thy says she has not worked since bringing her children to hospital. The medical care is free, and good, but the beds cost 30,000 riels (7.50 US dollars) each.

Since January some 7,655 Cambodian children under the age of 15 have been hospitalised with dengue, with 109 of them succumbing to the mosquito-borne illness, which punishes its victims with fever, vomiting and crippling muscle pain.

The most serious cases result in heavy bleeding as blood vessels disintegrate, and can quickly kill children.

Compared to last year's total of 6,149 cases and 158 deaths, "this year is much worse," said Ngan Chantha, director in the health ministry's dengue programme.

Doctor Un Sam Ath gestures up and down the bare hallways of the Krouch Chhmar clinic, saying that only a few days before they had been crowded end-to-end with beds and sick children.

Since May Krouch Chhmar referral hospital has received 20 dengue cases.

"Much more than 2006, when we had five cases total for the whole year," he says.

Two children have died. Un Sam Ath says he wanted to send them to the provincial hospital in Kompong Cham city, about three hours down a dirt road pitted with deep muddy holes.

"But their families were too poor to afford the trip. We have no ambulance and transport is a problem," he explains.

"We are so worried about the coming months -- parents are always waiting too long to bring their children to our hospital. By the time they arrive they have already fallen in a coma," Un Sam Ath says.

Those who can afford transportation to Kompong Cham will be okay, "but what about the poor?" he says.

The outbreak, which has stretched several hospitals in the capital Phnom Penh to capacity, highlights the many failures of Cambodia's health system, which like all of its public institutions is struggling after years of civil war and neglect.

"The total level of public financing for health is simply too low," the World Bank said in its 2007 equality and development report, which found that rural Cambodians still lacked significant access to healthcare.

The government spent only four dollars per person on health expenditures in 2006, the World Bank said, while Cambodian health officials admit that paediatric care is especially thin.

"We have not enough health care services for children -- it is still at a limited level," says Mam Bun Heng, a secretary of state with the health ministry.

A lack of basic health knowledge is also particularly deadly for uneducated rural Cambodians like many of those seeking help in Krouch Chhmar.

This combination has left Cambodia woefully unprepared for the current dengue outbreak.

"People's understanding of sanitation is still very low," Mam Bun Heng says. "We are educating them," but about three million dollars will be needed to fight yearly outbreaks of dengue.

Despite massive public education campaigns already warning people of dengue fever, Un Sam Ath said most people simply tune out the radio and television spots offering advice on how to combat the illnesses.

"People just want to watch the other programmes," he says.

"They need to understand more about this problem. Dengue fever outbreaks spread very quickly, and many people don't know how it spreads." - AFP/ra
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S. Korean bank to operate in Cambodia next month

The first commercial bank funded by South Korean investors will begin operations in Phnom Penh next month, with unusual banking services on offer, local newspaper the Rasmei Kampuchea said on Thursday.

Camko Bank, which is in the family of Camko City, a 2 billion U. S. dollar South Korean housing project to construct a satellite city on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, will become operational late July, the report quoted a Camko City official as saying.

With capital from its parent bank in South Korea, Busan Bank, Camko Bank will provide a variety of "unprecedented" banking services such as loans, VIP services and savings, according to the official.

Different from commercial banks currently operating in Cambodia, Camko Bank will provide among other things a lending service that borrowers don't have to repay the principal, but only the interest, said the official, who declined to elaborate on the issue.

According to the official, Camko Bank will play a main role in the future stock market in Cambodia.

The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has been assisting the Cambodian government to set up a stock exchange market in Cambodia, which is expected to start in 2009.

Source: Xinhua
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"Cambodia: land, people and cultural tradition" exhibition

VietNamNet Bridge – An exhibition themed "Cambodia: land, people and cultural tradition" was launched on Tuesday at the HCMC Exhibition House, 92 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1.

The exhibition features 70 pictures and items representing images of the beautiful country of Cambodia, the friendly relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia, and the art of Cambodian sculptures and handicrafts.

Guests can see pictures of famous landscapes and temples of Cambodia, as well as view other sculptural objects made from wood, copper, silver and granite.

In addition, there are traditional paintings of the royal palace and ancient temples which are still well preserved thanks to special materials from tree roots, leaves and grains found by the Cambodian ancients.

Some of the traditional costumes of the Cambodian, such as wedding costumes and the handicraft works are also displayed in the exhibition.

The exhibition is a part of the Cambodian Culture Week that was jointly organized by the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and Information in HCMC and the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Soc Trang from June 25 to June 30.

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Cambodia approves anti-terror laws

PHNOM PENH: Cambodian lawmakers have approved phone tapping and computer hacking as part of a broader anti-terrorism package, reports said Wednesday.

Parliament unanimously passed the new 111-article anti-terror law on Tuesday in a bid to better protect the country’s ports and combat militant funding.

The legislation, which was written with assistance from Australia and funding from Britain, allows prosecutors and investigating judges to monitor telephone calls and access computer systems. Secretary of State for the Justice Ministry Hy Sophea was quoted in local media as saying the law “shows to all that Cambodia is not a refuge for terrorists.”

Others warned, however, that the law could be used to further political agendas. The anti-terror legislation follows a similar law passed in April to fight money laundering amid fears that Cambodia’s nascent banking sector could be used to fund terror groups.

Cambodia has emerged as an enthusiastic ally in the US’ “war on terror,” and has been praised by Washington for its efforts, most notably the 2004 prosecution of several people accused of being members of the Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
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Plane Crash Prompts Concerns on Dodgy Travel Packages

Questions about the safety of discount package tours to Southeast Asia and China are on the rise following Monday's fatal plane crash in Cambodia.
According to the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, the number of Koreans who traveled to Southeast Asian countries more than doubled from 3.32 million in 2000 to 7.32 million in 2005. The number of travelers to Cambodia, famous for its Angkor Wat historical ruins, increased 15-fold during that period, from 2,046 to 33,072.

With tourism booming in Southeast Asia, some travel agencies are offering discount package tours in a bid to attract customers. While the victims of the accident each paid W599,000 (US$1=W938) for what was intended to be a six-day, four-night Cambodia trip, similar packages can be had for around W270,000 in some places.

In order to offer those bargain-basement prices the agencies sometimes contract with transportation companies that use older buses or planes, and that is becoming a threat to the safety of tourists.
Still, the accident seems to have persuaded few Korean tourists from traveling to Southeast Asia. Three hundred people on Tuesday canceled trips to Cambodia with Hanatour Service, the agency that put the tourists on the plane that crashed. But many tourists booked with other travel agencies left according to schedule.

In order to fill plane seats that they have already booked, travel agencies offer cut-rate tours during the low-demand season, up to one third the price of tours in the high season. Depending on the season, the price of a five-day, three-night tour to Cambodia can vary from around W300,000 to W1.1 million.

Some travel agencies offer tours including food, accommodation and local travel for less than the cost of the plane ticket, but travelers often end up complaining of hidden fees and disappointing tours.

"Choi" paid a local travel agency W500,000 for a five-day, three-night golf trip to Thailand in July of last year, but later filed a case with the Korea Consumer Protection Board requesting for compensation.

"I couldn't get to sleep at the hotel I stayed in the first night because of the noise, and a 'shrimp and pork barbecue' that was supposed to be provided as a special meal was not there. I had a car accident on the way to the airport on the last day and arrived late. The guide didn't direct me through the departure procedures, and I barely got on plane," Choi complained.

Tourism insiders warn that more fatal accidents could happen as agencies are booking cheap airlines to lower their costs.

"Many of the cheap packages to Southeast Asia that are currently on sale are on airplanes that are in poor condition," an official in the tourism industry said. "Because there's a lack of substitute planes, only one or two planes transport all the passengers, and in some cases small airlines with just a few years of domestic flying experience are operating on international routes."
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