Press Release, 27 Sep, 2010
The United States Government and the Royal Government of Cambodia will sign amendments to two bilateral agreements on September 28 that will provide $35.10 million in 2010 funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support and strengthen Cambodian development priorities in health and education. U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, Carol A. Rodley, will attend the ceremony and sign as a witness. H.E. Long Visalo, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Flynn Fuller, USAID Mission Director, will sign on behalf of their respective governments. USAID’s total funding commitment in health and education through the life of the bilateral agreement is over $277 million.
The amendment to the health agreement provides $33.55 million in grant funds that contribute to achievement of Cambodia’s national health objectives. Funds will support a variety of ongoing activities to reduce the transmission and impact of HIV/AIDS; to prevent and control major infectious diseases such as tuberculosis; to improve maternal, reproductive, and children’s health; and to strengthen Cambodian public health systems and the government’s national health priorities.
The amendment to the education agreement provides $1.55 million in grant funds to support the Cambodian government’s education objectives. These funds will support ongoing education programs aimed at improving the quality and relevance of basic education and increasing access to schooling for all children, including minorities, people with disabilities, and the very poor. Activities will also focus on reducing school dropout and repetition rates through improvements in teaching quality, school management training, and measuring student academic achievement.
In addition to health and education activities, USAID supports a broad range of programs designed to benefit all Cambodians in areas such as human rights, rule of law, local governance and decentralization, anti-corruption, natural resource management, economic growth, and combating trafficking in persons. USAID expects to commit a total of $69 million in assistance to Cambodia in 2010.
