Prime Minister Hun Sen was addressing a May 18 graduation ceremony for more than 1,000 medical students from the University of Health Sciences (UHS) in Phnom Penh. SPM
Cambodia must prepare the human and technical resources required to deal with the rapid evolution of new diseases, as climate change has been linked to the emergence of previously unknown viruses, Prime Minister Hun Sen said.
He also advised medical students to remember the reputation as “soldiers in white” that was earned by their predecessors during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and do it justice by maintaining the highest of professional ethics.
The premier was addressing a May 18 graduation ceremony for more than 1,000 medical students from the University of Health Sciences (UHS) in Phnom Penh.
“The climate change crisis is bringing along new diseases that have never been seen before, such as Covid-19 and the emergence of related diseases like bird flu and African Swine Fever [ASF] … and we do not know what will happen in future,” he said.
Hun Sen expressed his pleasure at the “excellent” progress of the health sector, emphasising that the government has placed a priority on improving the health and education sectors.
He also noted that several developed countries had underestimated the coronavirus, and many had underestimated how poorer nations would cope with the pandemic.
“Bringing the spread of Covid-19 under control was not a matter of strong or weak countries, but on a clear assessment of the situation and rapid decision-making on what action needed to be taken,” he said.
He also reminded the graduates and would-be doctors of the need to maintain the profession’s hard-won reputation as “soldiers in white”.
“I expected that all of you will follow the highest professional code of ethics. No matter how much technical knowledge you acquire, you must be governed by good ethics,” he added.
The prime minister said he is optimistic that all members of the Kingdom’s healthcare sector would continue to apply themselves to improving their skills, so they would be prepared for any future threats.
According to Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng, during the 2022-2023 academic year, the UHS has 5,953 students enrolled, 3,401 of them women. Of the total, 444 students received scholarships from the state while 86 specialised medical students received scholarships directly from the prime minister.
