Projects

Disability and Rehabilitation: Kep, Cambodia

A 30 year history of violent civil conflict has left Cambodia with a significant number of people with disabilities. In response, the government of Cambodia has set long-term goals to develop, implement and manage a national strategy for the prevention of disability and for the rehabilitation of the disabled, based on an integrated participatory and decentralised approach to service delivery. Although these actions for Cambodia’s disabled population are promising, service coverage remains fragmented and uncoordinated throughout the many regions of Cambodia, with little data available on the disability prevalence of rural regions throughout the country. This is particularly true for Krong Kaeb (the province of Kep).

The city of Kep is located on the Gulf of Siam, bordering Kampot province to the west and Vietnam to the east, is a relatively small administrative area with a population of approximately 34 000 people scattered among 18 villages. Despite its size, all levels the health care system are present, with one referral hospital and three health centers, along with a central health administrative office. It is currently unknown what proportion of the Kep population is disabled or in need of rehabilitation services.

The purpose of this project is to provide government and non-government decision makers with evidence-based information to implement appropriate programmes for the disabled people of the province Kep. In turn, this will provide appropriate disability interventions and services that are sustainable and community specific. Furthermore, this project will assist the promotion of the rights of peoples with disabilities to live as equal citizens within the community, to enjoy health and well being, to participate fully in education, social, cultural, religious, economic and political activities.

Activities to Date:

November 2006
In 2006, an inaugural team of CambodiaCAN representatives completed a needs assessment in Kep. The team conducted key informant interviews with a range of stakeholders to explore local issues related to disability and rehabilitation.   Key themes that emerged from these interviews related to: 1) lack of awareness and early intervention to address health and disability, and 2) limited access to health services for people with disabilities. Limited data were available on the prevalence and impact of disability in the community. This initial visit helped to establish goals and objectives for subsequent visits.

November & August 2007
In the fall of 2007, a second CambodiaCAN team, which included a physical therapy student from the University of Toronto, implemented a pilot workshop aimed at improving local awareness and knowledge of disability. People with disabilities, village health care workers, village representatives, and members of the Kep Department of Social Affairs, Veterans, Youth and Rehabilitation attended this workshop. Evaluation of the pilot workshop demonstrated that participants were satisfied and that the workshop increased their disability awareness.

December 2008
Building on the success of the previous visits, a third team returned to Kep in December of 2008 to implement another skills building workshop on disability awareness and to strengthen relationships with our in-country partners.

All of the above initiatives have been self-funded by CambodiaCAN members and supplemented through donations made to the ICDR, earmarked to the Cambodia Working Group.