Minister of Health Cheang Ra visits the Siem Reap Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital, also known as Jayavarman VII Hospital.
Minister of Health Cheang Ra officially opened a new maternity and post-natal ward at the Siem Reap Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital, also known as Jayavarman VII Hospital.
The February 14 inauguration ceremony was also attended by the deputy chair of the Kantha Bopha Foundation of Cambodia (CKF), hospital leaders and other partners, according to an announcement by the Siem Reap provincial information department.
The new facility, which cost $3 million, aims to meet the growing needs of patients and reduce maternal and infant mortality rates.
“This building will also benefit the government’s policy of equity and social protection, as the health sector is one of the priority areas of the government’s Pentagonal Strategy,” said Ra.
The minister encouraged health officials to continue further research into strengthening the health sector and to participate in training.
Yay Chantana, director of the Jayavarman VII Hospital, said the construction of the maternity ward was necessary to meet a growing demand for the care of pregnant women and newborns.
“The new maternity ward has 120 beds, including 40 for newborns. Construction began in March last year,” he added.
The new maternity ward has three floors, with an area of 1,500sqm. Construction cost around $2.5 million, with an additional $500,000 spent on medical equipment.
Philip Robinson, chairman of the board of directors of the Kantha Bopha Switzerland Foundation, said the hospitals are continuing to develop.
“Our strong progress is the result of our founder Beat Richner’s efforts to recruit excellent people and guarantee a sustainable future,” he said.
Robinson commits to supporting the hospital, and is planning various activities, including a cooperation project with the University Hospital of Zurich, Switzerland, which will send specialists to the hospital on a regular basis.
According to a report from the Jayavarman VII Hospital, over the past 25 years, it has treated 6,299,809 cases in the outpatients department and hospitalised 1,121,722 children under the age of 15. The maternity wards have provided 2,299,433 prenatal checkups and delivered 397,216 babies.
In 2023, the hospitals conducted 108,019 prenatal check-ups and 25,580 births, with 20 per cent of the deliveries by caesarean. The maternal mortality rate was 0.02 per cent.
It noted that 15,001 pregnant women and children under 2 have received cash benefits from the government’s equity and social protection policies that year.
