Oxfam's work in Cambodia in depth

In Cambodia, Oxfam's focus is on securing livelihoods, improving access to natural resources and market, reduce impact of natural disasters and climate change, and campaign for land rights and gender equality.

The context

The Cambodian economy has been growing rapidly for the last decade. Although this has improved lives and has enabled some people to escape poverty, the richest fifth of the population have benefited most. There is a growing gap in wealth between rich and poor and between rural and urban populations.  Economic and political power rests in the hands of small number of elites with little political will for equality. 

Cambodia is currently ranked 136 out of 179 in UNDP’s Human Development Index (2008), the lowest among East Asian countries. Over 33% of Cambodia’s 14 million people live on less than US$1 per day.  The vast majority of the population live in rural areas and depend on small-scale agriculture, fishery and forestry for their livelihoods. 

Access to fisheries and forests becomes more difficult as members of the elite take control of state assets.  Growing numbers of poor farmers have become landless by selling their land to cope with financial shocks.  While land grab is a big issue in Cambodia, there is lack of implementation of pro-poor laws due to weak governance.  Poor women, men, and ethnic minorities struggle to make their voices held by decision-makers.

Only a small minority of the population have access to adequate sanitation and less than half have access to clean water. People in 22 out of the 24 provinces in Cambodia still struggle to meet their nutrition needs. Seasonal floods and droughts appear to be worsening due to climate change. Floods may increase the incidence of disease and they endanger lives, homes and livelihoods, particularly for vulnerable families.

Free health care provision remains limited and the cost of paying for emergency medical treatments often forces people to sell their land. Levels of literacy are lower amongst women than men.  Although the trend is rising among young people under 18 years of age, quality of education is generally low.  Some 200,000 people join in the labour force in the country every year, without any good prospects for employment. 

How is Oxfam helping?

Oxfam started work on creating strong and supportive civil society institutions in the 1990s. This approach still characterises our programme in Cambodia today. We also help people to prepare for natural diasters, secure their livelihoods and assert their rights. 

Land rights and livelihoods security

Oxfam’s livelihoods programme is central to our work in Cambodia. The livelihoods of rural poor people in Cambodia depend heavily on access to natural resources, especially land, fisheries and forests.  Oxfam works with partners to provide legal assistance to protect farmers from unfair land grabbing and disputes over land.  We lobby the government to develop policies that allow poor women and men to access and manage natural resources, particularly fisheries and forestry that sustain their livelihoods.

Oxfam works with partners to maximise their food production and income through improved agriculture technologies and approaches, and better access to markets. 

We also provide agricultural training. Teack Voeut (left) describes the new methods in action: “At first I didn't believe that a single stem [of rice] could split into so many shoots, but we tried it anyway. The result is astonishing! We made enough profit to pay off our debt.”

Climate change

Millions of people in Cambodia are affected by floods. Every year hundreds of people die and thousands of houses are destroyed. Many people have no chance to recover fully from previous years’ flood damage before diasaster occurs again. The disruption caused by floods leads to poor rice crops and food shortages, drinking water becomes contaminated and people become ill. This combination of circumstances often leads to people building up heavy debts to provide for themselves and their families. Oxfam aims to minimise the impact of natural disasters and climate change on the lives of poor people through a range of activities and coping mechanism to prepare for emergencies.

Female empowerment

Oxfam aims to ensure that women and men participate in and benefit from community development. Oxfam works with its partners to strengthen the capacity of women’s movements across all sectors and classes in Cambodian society.

We encourage activities aimed at empowering women, through policy development and speaking to the government and National Assembly. We will continue to fund activities that empower women to speack out for their own interests abd claim their rights.

 

Last updated: December 2009