Issues the Project Tackles

In Cambodia, hospitals do not provide patients with meals in consideration of nutritional value necessary for recovery from diseases. Likewise, no institutions such as schools or orphanages have meal service program from the viewpoint of nutrition and therefore children cannot take well-balanced diet for their growth.

Background of the Issues

There are few nutrition experts in Cambodia where child malnutrition rate is high among Asian countries. Nutrition is not taught systematically at educational institutions including medical schools. Therefore, even doctors’ understanding on the importance of hospital meals in terms of patient treatment is low. There are cases facing difficulty to raise the therapeutic effect of the illness or injury because patients cannot strengthen their own healing power.

FIDR implemented “Hospital Diet Assistance Project” for 8 years from April 2006 to March 2014. We established the facility and an operating system to provide nutritionally balanced meals at National Pediatric Hospital (NPH). However, it is necessary to improve the doctors and nurses’ understanding of meal and nutrition in order to achieve the nutritional management of patients through the food service.

Lack of nutritional management of the meals is an issue not only in the hospital but also in schools and orphanages due to lack of knowledge and skill among the staff. It is essential to improve the meals of each facility by using the meal program established in NPH as a model. There is no official standard for nutrition in Cambodia. Currently, the Ministry of Health is intending to establish the Dietary Reference Intakes for Children; however, there are not enough human resources to proceed with the practical work for it.

Project Site

National Pediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh and facilities (hospital, school, orphanage, etc.) providing meal to children in Cambodia.

Beneficiaries

・Staff of NPH (doctors, nurses, kitchen staffs): approx. 350 people
・Staff of facilities providing meals to children in Cambodia
・Inpatients of NPH (approx. 10,000 per year)
・Children in facilities providing meals

Main Activities

1. Introduction of nutritional management in NPH
2. Research and development of the Dietary Reference Intakes for Children
3. Guidance on nutrition and meal management in other facilities

Project Period

FY2014〜FY2016

Our Approach

Many organizations in Cambodia have been fighting against child malnutrition through distributing micronutrients and awareness promotion to parents, yet nutritional approach in institutional meal services has been left untouched. Focusing on this point, we seek to improve the knowledge and skills of the staff in charge of child diet.

By utilizing the experiences we gained through Hospital Dies Assistance Project, we introduce effective measures for improving meal program to institutions in concord with local food, dietary habits and skills of local staff.

We are going to establish the foundation of the countrywide strategy to solve the issue of child malnutrition by creating Dietary Reference Intakes for Children and the guideline for instructions in collaboration with the Cambodian government.