Side By Side International
for Kingdom of Cambodia
Side by Side International (SBSI) has been working directly with the government of Cambodia such as the Ministry of Health. SBSI have been requested by the Secretary of State who is in charge of the development of EMS for Cambodia to strengthen the capacity of emergency services provided by the national level hospitals in Phnom Penh city.
These national hospitals have been rendering emergency services based on the French method of SAMU; however, the system itself has been in need of renovation particularly in the field of ambulatory care skills of staff and efficiency of response activities. The experts dispatched by the Side By Side International from Japan currently work with the National Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital and support its life-saving effort that covers not only Phnom Penh but its near by provinces.
SBSI Japan has dispatched 3 short term expert/volunteers from Japan and
elsewhere to support local emergency medical services teams in association
with the EMS system development project in Cambodia.
National Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital EMS team
September 30, 2009
In front of the hospital.Two ambulances behind them were sent from Japan.
Because there are lives to be saved …
Cambodia Ministry of Health Ambulance Donation Ceremony
November 25, 2008
On November 25th, the ambulance donation ceremony was held at the Ministry of Health in Cambodia. The four ambulances were shipped by Side by Side International (SBSI), using funds granted under the Japanese Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects. Many people attended the ceremony, including the Cambodia Minister of Health, Secretary of State, Representatives of government hospitals and the Minister Counselor from the Japanese Embassy. These ambulances will be utilized in a project to develop the first official 119 emergency medical system in Cambodia, launched by our partner TICO, a Japanese NGO, and in corporation with the Cambodian Government. The donation of high-tech ambulances with the latest medical equipment received much attention, and was greatly appreciated by attending officials and other guests on-hand. SBSI has also recently exported 2 other rescue vehicles along with hundreds of emergency and medical items, and assisted in the export of an ambulance from Osaka, Japan.
In Cambodia, the second biggest cause of death was traffic accidents in 2007. (The biggest cause was HIV/AIDS.) However the number has been increasing, and actual death rate is the worst in South East Asia. In Cambodia, many private ambulances have no medical equipment nor trained workers, and charge extortionate fees to injured parties or their families. This issue was covered on two different NHK news program in Japan, which also reported on the activities of TICO, and eventually the Health Ministry made it illegal for private ambulances to retrieve victims in emergency situations. This has helped concentrate the effort by TICO, Health Ministry, police departments, and public hospitals to make considerable progress in a short time, and the ambulances imported from Japan played an important role. Additionally, the first Emergency Medical Service textbook and DVD in the Cambodian language was completed by Mr. V.
Roeun from MTI (Medical Team International, USA) and his team who have been assisting in Cambodia.
We would like to make an appeal for your contribution to this project, as there is still a great need of financial assistance and skilled workers. Any kind of contribution would be greatly appreciated, and we look forward to hearing from you. We will continue to report on the progress of our work, and thank you for your ongoing support.
Please also check out the sites below of other projects that we are supporting.
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The Cambodian Dormitory and Education Project
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American Assistance for Cambodia/Japan Relief for Cambodia
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Friends Without a Boader(Angkor Hospital for Children)
Side by Side International is a mission partner of Family Care Foundation in the U.S.A.