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Success Story
USAID helps Cambodian
partners find local solutions
for local problems
Homegrown Partners Thrive in Cambodia
Photo: USAID Suzana Sorinchan
Dr. Ouk Vong Vathiny (left) at a RHAC
clinic in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
The health organization
is setting an example
not just for the country's
health sector, but for all of
Cambodian society. "We're
not waiting for work to come
to us; we go out and find
it. Our society is poor and
starting from zero, so we
want to work hard to change
it," said Dr. Ouk Vong
Vathiny, the organization's
executive director.
In 1997, Cambodia erupted into violence as rival political parties fought for power. In response, many international donors closed their programs and pulled out of the country. Left behind without administrative and technical support, many Cambodians working in the health sector floundered.
But not the employees of the Reproductive Health Association
of Cambodia, a health organization that was founded in 1994
with USAID funding. As one of Cambodia's few locally-run health
organizations at the time, it was uniquely positioned to continue
its work unimpeded through the crisis. Indeed, instead of merely
surviving, it thrived.
"We are Cambodians, and we wanted to show Cambodian
society that we could do the job," said Dr. Ouk Vong Vathiny, the
organization's executive director.
The organization's success had much to do with its skillful staff and
capable leadership. The success was also the result of USAID's
efforts to invest heavily in local health organizations by providing
them with funding and introducing standards in systems such as
accounting and budgeting procedures. By stressing local ownership
of local problems, USAID encourages its Cambodian partners to
fi nd solutions appropriate for local conditions. Not only does this
approach make sense from a problem-solving perspective, but it is
also cost-effective.
The USAID-funded organization is now one of Cambodia's most
successful and innovative health providers. With a staff of 540 and
a network of peer volunteers numbering 19,000, the organization
reaches more than a third of the country's population and is
successfully tackling some of the most challenging health problems,
ranging from reproductive health to HIV/AIDS to tuberculosis. The
organization has set the standard for high-quality health care in
Cambodia by encouraging citizens to demand better services and
requiring providers to improve their level of care. By delivering highquality
services at a fraction of the cost of international technical
assistance, the Reproductive Health Association of Cambodia has
become a model for what local organizations can achieve.
"The donors and the Cambodian government didn't think that local
health organizations were capable of being independent," Ouk
said. "But our success has changed a lot of minds, including some
high-profi le ones. The greatest compliment I received was when the
secretary of state for health told me, 'Before, I never trusted that
you could do the work, but now I believe you can do it.'"
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