A Mother Died

On 8th December, early in the morning, a mother who gave birth in a public health center bled to death, in spite of the staff’s efforts to stop her bleeding. They couldn’t transport her to a better-equipped hospital because, even though they had a vehicle, there was no driver available… They contacted us and we rushed to the health center with our community ambulance. Sadly, it was too late to save her. It was her 3rd or 4th child and she left behind a grieving husband and other children.
This year, we had provided assistance in at least 5 maternity emergency cases, and this was the only case in which we couldn’t save a life.
High maternal mortality in Cambodia’s remote rural areas is a crucial issue that we are trying to tackle. We implemented our mobile maternity clinic in January, after hearing that many expectant women in Cambodia do not receive any antenatal care at all despite the urgings from health centers staff. When complications occur, they are rushed to the public center at the last minute. Often, it is too late to save their lives.
The reasons are varied, from financial barriers or difficult access to health care facilities, to lack of education or reluctance from their family to act promptly.
Once our Health Center is open, we plan to concentrate on this crucial issue, and we will do our utmost to locate expectant mothers in impoverished rural areas and provide the best possible delivery services to these vulnerable women.

Ambulance activity in Phnom Penh

Side-By-Side International (SBSI), one of our donor NGOs from Japan, is involved in the implementation of an effective public Emergency Medical Service (EMS) system in Phnom Penh, under the umbrella of Cambodia’s Ministry of Health. With Cambodia having a high rate of traffic accidents, it is crucial to put in place and develop such system throughout the Kingdom, and this what SBSI is planning to do as the project progresses. CDEP is collaborating with SBSI’s Cambodia office for this project, by providing technical assistance and sharing our expertise and know-how in this field.

Thanks to the strong leadership of the Ministry of Health, a number of agencies and ministries are now cooperating in this undertaking. There are many difficulties to overcome but we are convinced that, with the joint efforts of all, the project will succeed.

Introduction: Handmade Back Board

When you are injured in an accident, it is crucial if your neck is fixed while you are rescued from the scene of accident. If you get damage on your neck and people move you without fixing your neck, you may get additional damage or, in the worst case, it kills you.



The back board is one of the rescue tools which can make a patient's body be fixed and stable during evacuation and transferring by an ambulance.



The back board is currently not available in Cambodia; we need to import it from outside. It costs around few hundred dollars if you purchase a back board in some countries like USA, Japan etc. We decided to produce handmade back boards in collaboration with TICO Cambodia. We provide piece of woods and TICO Cambodia make back board from them.

[Handmade back board (Left); photo taken at TICO Cambodia Office]

It cannot last long compare to the plasitic commercially produced ones. But our handmade back boards already saved many victims from accidents.

Introduction: Community Ambulance

Today, we would like to introduce Medic 42, our community ambulance.

There was a so-called "Ambulance" in the community. We heard it was a donation from a Rotary Club. Unfortunately, community didn't have proper management system to maintain this ambulance.


When this ambulance was seriously broken and nobody in the community could cover the cost for repair, we suggested that we can pay for the cost but we would like to supervise the management of this ambulance. Since then, we have been keeping our eyes on this ambulance so that the ambulance is properly maintained and used as "Ambulance" but not for any other purpose. We have also been paying for ambulance driver's salary.

[Community Ambulance; Before TICO's modification]

It used to equip a stretcher only. We could transfer patients but could not do much to keep patients stable. TICO, a Japanese NGO, our good partner in Cambodia, modified and equipped this community ambulance with necessary Basic Life Suport equipment in this year. Now we can provide at least basic prehospital care before and during transferring patient to a hospital.

[It used to be like this; had only stretcher]

[Now our community ambulance can provide Basic Life Support]

Our Health Center has not yet started operation, but we have been transferring number of patients from our area to Phnom Penh.

Since we started cooperation with TICO, we have been working together on patients' transfer from National Road No.4, where our site locates, to Phnom Penh. It takes at least 1 hour in emergency drive from our area to Phnom Penh. If we transfer a patient to Phnom Penh by our ambulance, we cannot respond to any other case for next 2 hours. There is no other ambulance available in 30 km radious of our area. Also, fuel cost for 2 hours round trip was a big burden.


In order to minimize those negative factors, TICO and we established link-up system. When we receive a patient, we communicate with TICO and TICO arrange a public ambulance in Phnom Penh and it comes along the National Road No.4 towards our area. We meet in the halfway point and pass the patient to the ambulance from Phnom Penh.

[Working together with TICO "Life Saving Project" team]

In this way, we can share the travel distance and travel cost. We can return to the base within an hour and can prepare for the next response. Cooperation with public ambulances through TICO "Life Saving Project" significantly ameliorate Emergency Medical Response along National Road No.4.

Emergency Medical Response System in Phnom Penh City is currently dramatically improved with the effort of Cambodian Government and also guidance from TICO. Now we can communicate with Phnom Penh City Emergency Call Center and they dispatch appropriate public ambulance from Phnom Penh.

After our Health Center starts operation, we will be able to improve our emergency medical response system more.