Cambodia: PM Hun Sen asks for cooperation to meet goal of eradicating malaria by 2025

Cambodia has demonstrated its goal to accomplish its vision of being malaria-free as the country's Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen called on all stakeholders to bolster collaboration based on trust, people-centred partnerships and multilateralism on Monday. PM Hun Sen voiced his full support for all activities and cooperation undertaken to build a global community of health for all, especially the eradication of malaria through the use of artemisinin, in a pre-recorded video statement delivered to the International Forum on the 50th Anniversary of the Discovery of Artemisinin and on Building a Global Community of Health for All, which was held in Beijing, China.

He stated that in order to completely eradicate malaria by the year 2025, Cambodia will strengthen cooperation with all stakeholders, particularly the People's Republic of China, through the Belt and Road Initiative, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, and China's South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund. China developed and effectively extracted artemisinin, which was the first unique antimalarial medication, which has saved millions of lives, particularly in developing nations.

Hun Sen underlines malaria statistics in Cambodia

Hun Sen claimed Cambodia had more than 170,000 malaria cases and nearly 1,000 deaths in the 1980s and by the year 2021, the number of malaria cases had reduced to 3,959 in the South-East Asian country, with no deaths in the last four years. He also claims that artemisinin is effective in the treatment of malaria. The cases of malaria are usually seen among people who live and work in or near vast forests and parts of Cambodia is covered with dense forest.

COVID in Cambodia

In the meantime, on Sunday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen also urged the public to receive their Covid-19 vaccine booster doses, claiming that the booster shots are required to increase the protection of the people against the extremely contagious disease. In February 2021, the South-East Asian country began a nationwide vaccination campaign against the disease, with China serving as the primary vaccine provider. The country's Health Ministry suggests that 14.88 million people, or 93% of the country's 16 million people, have received at least one vaccination, with 14.14 million, or 88%, having received both doses, according to local media reports.

(Inputs from ANI)