DanChurchAid

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Cambodia

Monk in a pagoda, Cambodia 2002
© Mikkel Østergaard

Programme work

DanChurchAid's (DCA) work in Cambodia is guided by the belief that all people have the right to a sustainable livelihood, basic services, safety from conflict and disaster, an effective voice in decision making, and equal rights. DanChurchAid works with local partners to improve the food security of impoverished Cambodians, uphold the rights of women and girls and fight the spreading of HIV/AIDS.

Girl working in the field, Battambang province, Cambodia 2003
© Mikkel Østergaard

The right to food

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia. With most of the population living in rural areas, sustaining a livelihood is a daily challenge. Many farmers suffer from lack of food, malnutrition, lack of access to clean water and are subject to great seasonal changes in their income. The poor rural populations are subjects to annexations and evictions, when rich Cambodians and officials buy up or take over their land. There is low awareness of rights amongst the rural population, among which most are illiterate and have had little or no education. Read more...

HIV medicine, Cambodia
© Maia Kahlke Lorentzen

HIV/AIDS awarenes, prevention and care

HIV/AIDS is spreading rapidly throughout South East Asia. In Cambodia at least 130.000 people are infected with HIV. Almost half of the new infected are married women, who are infected by their partners and one third of new infections occur from mothers to their newborn infants. DCA and Christian Aid have joined programmes on HIV/AIDS, focusing especially on youth and prevention. Read more...

Street children, Cambodia 2002
© Mikkel Østergaard

Supporting women and children

In Cambodian culture, women are generally viewed as being inferior to men. Girls tend not to get an education, they are often illiterate and more burdened by poverty and social immobility. Women are often subjects to violence, rape, sexual abuse, trafficking and economic exploitation, especially when they are poor and uneducated. DanChurchAid works with local human rights organisations and crisis centres to raise awareness of the rights of women, provide support and capacity building to victims of exploitation and to bring the voices of the victims to the government and officials.