The harp, drums, and cymbals of a Cambodian Pinpeat ensemble provide an excellent example of synergy; where the sum of activity becomes more effective than the individual parts. Similarly, between October 4-21, 2022, a joint implementation support mission was conducted for five projects supporting Cambodia’s health sector. The mission was conducted with strong participation from the Cambodian government, World Bank, and partners co-financing the program, including the Australian government, Global Financing Facility, KfW Development Bank, and Korea International Cooperation Agency.
This innovative approach highlighted opportunities for greater project harmonization, common challenges, and entry points for Bank financing to provide influential and catalytic support to the country’s health sector. Collectively, these 5 projects provide over US$600 million to support improvements in access to quality health and nutrition services strengthening, pandemic preparedness and response, and accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage. The health, nutrition and population portfolio in Cambodia has grown rapidly, proving to be transformative in the sector, with a strong track record of donor coordination and pooled, leveraged funding, situating Bank operations at the center of health policy and system strengthening in the country. Government co-financing of these health projects has grown from 10% to over 50% of the portfolio size in the last 6 years.
More on health projects in Cambodia: Health and water projects bring real change to Cambodians (worldbank.org)