Health Minister: Health centers are the first gateway to the health sector

Phnom Penh: Professor Chheang Ra, Minister of Health, said that health centers are the first gateway to the health sector that is closest to the people.

In a meeting with the Health, Social Affairs, Veterans Affairs Committee Youth Rehabilitation, Employment, Vocational Training and Women’s Affairs (Committee 8) of the Senate, Professor Chheang Ra, stated that Under the strong and wise leadership of His Excellency President Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, the expansion of health care services towards universal health coverage has been identified as a priority policy, focusing on strengthening primary health services, improving service quality, developing institutional capacity, and building strong partnerships between the public and private sectors.

The Minister said that the Ministry of Health has continued to promote the implementation of the Health Strategy Plan 2025-2034 and the Roadmap towards Universal Health Coverage 2024-2035, achieving significant progress in expanding access to health care services, strengthening services at health centers and referral hospitals to provide health services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, improving patient quality and safety, and strengthening the referral and emergency systems.

At the same time, the Minister added that the Ministry has continued to strengthen priority health programs, including: prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, maternal, infant and child health, and mental health, as well as response to public health threats. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has continued to promote human resource development, strengthening governance, digitizing the health system, and regulating private health services.

For the next direction, Professor Chheang Ra asserted that the Ministry of Health will focus on expanding coverage of quality health services, strengthening equity, and preventing financial risks. Human resource and institutional capacity development, strengthening the supply chain of medicines, medical equipment and devices, and developing data and digital transformation to continue to drive progress towards achieving universal health coverage by 2035.