Australian Ambassador to Cambodia Justin Whyatt – highlighting the Australian Government’s commitment to supporting the health and rights of women and marginalised groups in the Kingdom – visited the Marie Stopes International Cambodia (MSIC) clinic in Phnom Penh's Sen Sok district on January 23, 2024.
MSIC – a leading women’s health organisation in Cambodia – specialises in family planning and safe abortion, providing a comprehensive spectrum of services for every stage of womanhood.
“We support all women being able to make choices about their life, including when and whether to have children. That’s why access to sexual and reproductive health services is so important.
"And why we are really pleased to partner with Marie Stopes to support safe, high quality health services for women,” said Australian Ambassador to Cambodia Justin Whyatt.
MSIC supports the delivery of high-quality, affordable, confidential and non-judgemental healthcare services, ensuring that every client’s care journey is met with dignity and respect.
The Australian Government is supporting two projects implemented by MSIC, one through the "Responding with Essential Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Provision and New Delivery Mechanisms" programme (RESPOND) and the other through the "Australian NGO Cooperation Program" (ANCP).
Both projects aim to increase equitable access to comprehensive, high-quality SRH information and services, including family planning, to women of reproductive age.
From menstruation to menopause, MSIC focuses on reaching adolescents, young people, women with disabilities and other marginalised groups through these transformative projects.
In addition to increasing access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services, the RESPOND project primarily focuses on innovative approaches to counteract the negative impacts of Covid-19.
For MSIC, this meant piloting a successful telemedicine service in 2021, which has since been expanded due to the positive results.
In addition, ongoing support through ANCP since 2020 has supported MSIC to establish two new centres in areas where women continue to face barriers in accessing SRH services, one in the capital's Sen Sok district and the other in Banteay Meanchey province's Poipet city.
Both projects have contributed to strengthened sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) services, integrated telehealth for enhanced accessibility, and a waiver system eliminating financial barriers for marginalised groups.
The success of the two projects was discussed by the Australian Ambassador and MSIC Brand Ambassadors.
The visit of the Australian Ambassador to the MSIC Sen Sok Clinic serves as a testament to the collaborative efforts between Australia and MSIC, further emphasising their shared commitment to advancing comprehensive SRH services.
For assistance on SRH service accesses and counselling:
Send a Facebook message to Marie Stopes Cambodia;
Every day from 7am to 5pm; 012 999 002 or 098 999 102;
Send a message via LINE, Viber, WhatsApp, WeChat or Telegram on 093 24 08 23.
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