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This month, the United
States and Cambodia signed amendments to two bilateral agreements that will
provide $34.8 million in 2009 funding to support Cambodian priorities in health
and education.
U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Carol Rodley presided over the September 8th
signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation in Phnom Penh. Hor Namhong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Flynn Fuller, United States
Agency for International Development [USAID] Mission Director, signed on behalf
of their respective governments.
"I am pleased to be here to reaffirm the commitment of the American people
to investing in the health and education of the Cambodian people,"
Ambassador Rodley said.
"By working side by side with our colleagues in the Cambodian government,
we've helped stem the tide of HIV/AIDS, improve the quality of basic health
services, and enhance the relevance and availability of education for thousands
of youth."
The amendment to the first agreement consists of $31.6 million in grant funds
to achieve health objectives. Funds will be used to promote a variety of
activities to reduce the transmission and impact of HIV/AIDS; to prevent and
control major infectious diseases such as tuberculosis; to fight avian
influenza and other influenza-like illnesses; to improve maternal,
reproductive, and children's health; and to strengthen Cambodian public-health
systems.
The amendment to the second agreement will provide $3.2 million in grant funds
to support the Cambodian government's education objectives. These funds will
support the launch of a new program that will build on USAID's ongoing
education program, which is improving the quality and relevance of basic
education and increasing access to schooling for all children, including
minorities, people with disabilities, and the very poor. Activities will also
focus on reducing school dropout and repetition rates through improvements in
teaching quality, school-management training, and measuring student academic achievement.
The total amount of direct, bilateral assistance through all foreign assistance
accounts is $65.1 million in fiscal year 2009; of which USAID assistance
accounts for $59.9 million.
The United States is committed to working with the government of Cambodia to
help provide better education and health care to the Cambodian people.
