Cambodia Enhances Pediatric Congenital Heart Disease Screening with Chinese Support and Expert Training

The Cambodian Ministry of Health, in collaboration with China's Fuwai Yunnan Hospital and the Mekong Institute, has organized a training program and implemented screening for congenital heart disease in children in Siem Reap and Kampong Cham provinces. This initiative is part of the Mekong Children’s Heart Care Project (MCHC) and aims to enhance the knowledge and technical capacity of Cambodian healthcare officials. The training program was recently conducted in Siem Reap and Kampong Cham provinces. Participants included leaders, healthcare officials, doctors, and nurses from the target provinces: Siem Reap, Kampong Cham, Kampot, and Takeo. Technical guidance was provided by specialist doctors from Calmette Hospital, the Cambodia-China Friendship Hospital (Preah Kossamak), and Fuwai Yunnan Hospital of the People's Republic of China. The primary objectives of this training program are to strengthen the knowledge and technical capabilities of healthcare officials in early detection, screening, referral, diagnosis, data recording, and follow-up of children diagnosed with congenital heart disease. Key topics included the role of local health bases in early disease detection, assessment of pediatric cardiac health, diagnosis through auscultation, echocardiography, and ensuring the quality of school-based screening in both provinces. During the implementation of the screening for children in Siem Reap and Kampong Cham provinces, approximately over 20,000 children were examined, and over 700 children received echocardiography. The execution of this program reflects the attention given by the Ministry of Health and relevant partners to strengthening the capacity of national and sub-national healthcare officials. It also highlights the excellent cooperation between the Ministry of Health, development partners, experts, and local health bases in jointly improving the well-being and quality of life for Cambodian children. Source: AKP Khmer