The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $15 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) for the Cambodia Strengthening Pre-Service Education System for Health Professionals Project to strengthen Cambodia’s pre-service education system for health professionals to improve the quality of care for better health outcomes.
Cambodia faces a shortage of qualified health professionals, especially in the public sector. Cambodia has only 1.4 doctors and 9.5 nurses and midwives per 10,000 people. These ratios are significantly below the average of 9 doctors and 19 nurses per 10,000 people among low- and lower-middle income countries in the East Asia and Pacific region.
In Cambodia, doctors typically work at secondary- and tertiary-level facilities, while primary care facilities are almost entirely staffed by nurses and midwives. While a majority of general practitioner doctors work at the provincial level (63 percent), most specialists are deployed to hospitals at the central level (79 percent).
