NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, March 14, 2014

The number of Cambodian rural households with access to latrines increased from 23 to 33 per cent in 2013, a Ministry of Rural Development report released yesterday says.

Chreay Pom, director of the ministry’s rural health care department, said that last year, the ministry constructed about 1,800 facilities in six provinces: Battambang, Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong, Kampot, Svay Reing and Takeo.

“Although we noticed that the [latrine coverage] in rural areas has increased … we still have the challenge that most people in rural areas depend on agencies to build latrines. They do not [feel] responsible to build them by themselves, [and] our budget is limited,” said Pom.

Last year, sanitation funding from the Asian Development Bank and the national budget totalled $679,000, Pom added.