SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Oct 25, 2011 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Approximately 50 government officials and civil society representatives gathered here on Tuesday to discuss ways to accelerate the attainment of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
Speaking during the opening session of the three-day Advocacy Training Workshop for Least Developed Countries, Cambodia's Minister of Planning Chhay Than said that among the least developed countries, Cambodia is a leading one in its active work to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
"The workshop is to find ways to accelerate the governments' efforts to achieve the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals and to identify the needs of the poor and vulnerable people in order to fight poverty effectively," he said.
He said that in the last decade, Cambodia has seen a success in fighting against poverty by reducing the poverty rate of at least 1 percent a year. By the end of 2010, the poverty rate has declined to 25.8 percent.
He added that the GDP per capita is 830 U.S. dollars in 2010, up 8.5 percent compared to that in 2009.
The UN's Millennium Development Goals focus on extreme poverty and hunger eradication, universal primary education, gender equality and women empowerment, child mortality reduction, maternal health improvement, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases combat, environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
The 10 countries attended the workshop are Cambodia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines.
The workshop was organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific.
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Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Officials from 10 countries meet in Cambodia to discuss Millennium Development Goals
Malaria death toll in Cambodia down 22% in 9 months
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Malaria had killed 64 Cambodians during the first nine months of this year, 22 percent decline from 82 deaths at the same period last year, said health officials on Tuesday.
From January to September this year, some 43,991 cases of malaria had been reported, up 15 percent from 38,321 cases during the same period last year, Char Meng Chuor, the director of the National Center for Malaria, said in a press briefing on the mosquito net distribution campaign on Tuesday.
He said that Cambodia is committed to eradicate the death of malaria by 2015. With this target, Cambodia needs the total budget of 131 million U.S. dollars.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease. In Cambodia, the disease is often found in rainy season and mostly happens in border provinces, forest and mountainous provinces.
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Robert Pattinson - Robert Pattinson Helps Cambodian Charity
Robert Pattinson has arranged for a private screening of the latest 'Twilight Saga' movie to be auctioned off for charity.
The British actor - who stars as vampire Edward Cullen in the movie franchise - has organised a bidding war for a viewing of 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1' which will take place in Los Angeles on November 17, the night before the film officially opens.
Profits from the sale of the private screening will go to the GO Campaign, which is raising money to build a permanent home for PAGE (Program Advancing Girls Education), an organisation helping to educate teen girls in Cambodia.
PAGE - which is run by Cambodian monks in Siem Reap - currently houses 12 girls in a rented facility and the new facility hopes to accommodate 20 girls.
The auction will coincide with the GO Campaign's fourth annual GO GO Gala which will be hosted by Ewan McGregor at the London Hotel in Los Angeles.
Last year, Robert donated a set visit to 'Breaking Dawn' to the same charity which raised $80,000.
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