Cambodia Strategy Plan 2005 - 2008

Cambodia’s economic situation has improved in recent years. Relative political stability since the final Khmer Rouge defections in 1998 has provided an environment more conducive to economic development. Despite this economic improvement however, 36% of Cambodians still live on less than 50 cents a day, and many more are not far above that ‘poverty line’.

Vocational education and training leads to employment

The poor are mainly but not exclusively in rural areas, and generally lack the education and skills to help them improve their living standards. Illiteracy is still high, especially in rural areas and among women. There are still many school dropouts even at primary level, and girls drop out at a higher rate than boys. There are few opportunities for the poor to gain necessary livelihood skills.

The economic improvement that has occurred is in large part the result of extremely rapid development in 3 industry sectors - the garment sector, the tourism and hospitality sector, and the building sector. The garment sector which took off dramatically in the second half of the nineties and led to a US-Cambodian Bilateral Textile Agreement signed in 1999 which guaranteed a quota in the US textile market, has employed some 200,000 mainly young rural women. The garment industry now faces an uncertain future following the phasing out of the Multi-Fibre and related Agreements at the end of 2004. The second major industry development has been in tourism and hospitality, especially in Siem Reap, home to the Angkor Wat temple complex. The rapid development of tourism has led to the third major industry development, a boom in the building industry, with very large numbers of new hotels and resorts being constructed especially in Siem Reap.

Many low skilled, low wage jobs have become available in the garment and building industries. Large numbers of unskilled women and men migrating from rural areas desperately seek employment in these sectors, and are prepared to live in very poor conditions to get the work. All 3 sectors have however rapidly become quite highly unionised, so workers are getting a voice. But pay is low and working conditions such as annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave and overtime pay enshrined in the 1997 Labour Code are often not observed without union intervention. Many jobs in the hospitality industry are skilled and are better paid than those in the other 2 sectors.

The majority of the population however are in rural areas and many earn their living through subsistence rice farming only. They are poor and lack the knowledge and skills, and the means, to try to improve their living standards. Their situation is further exacerbated by a lack of essential services, inadequate infrastructure and natural disasters. There is also a sizeable urban poor population, which is increasing with the drift to the city of many unable to subsist back in the village.

Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA's on-going aim is to assist Cambodia to achieve the Millennium Development Goals through increasing opportunities for poor Cambodians to gain education and skills.

Key issues & concerns

• lack of employment/income skills among the poor
• uneven socioeconomic development, low socioeconomic status of rural people
• low productivity and incomes of the poor especially the rural poor and women
• lack of access to basic and essential health services and lack of knowledge of preventable health activities
• the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and proliferation of an unregulated sex industry
• labour rights issues, including low pay and poor conditions
• environmental degradation
• landmines causing suffering and death and constraining farming activity

Key strategies of Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA in Cambodia 2005-2008

• partnerships with local government and non-government organisations
• building on development work undertaken since 1985
• strengthening HIV/AIDS education programs, especially in the workplace
• cooperation with local and regional unions and bodies involved with labour issues, including the ILO

• Technical/vocational education and training leading to employment and income generation for the educationally disadvantaged, particularly targeting women
• Agricultural training including improving food security and income generating opportunities for small farmers through fish breeding and vegetable production.
• Increasing agricultural production using environmentally friendly and sustainable methods.
• Improving nutrition by increasing food production and income generating opportunities especially for women
• HIV/AIDS education and reproductive health
• Labour rights training for workers

• Sustainable livelihood training for income generation or formal employment for poor rural and urban communities
• Agriculture skills training for rural poor especially with domestic fish farming and vegetable production
• Basic health education - reproductive health & HIV/AIDS and nutrition.

• Sustainable livelihood training for income generation or formal employment for poor rural and urban communities
• Agriculture skills training for rural poor especially with domestic fish farming and vegetable production
• Basic health education - reproductive health & HIV/AIDS and nutrition.
• HIV/AIDS as a union issue
• Capacity building for local organisations
  
  
  
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