Addressing cancers, diabetes, heart disease and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Cambodia is crucial to ensure health and well-being for all, maintain rapid economic growth, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
This was the main finding of ‘Prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in Cambodia: the case for investment’, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report conducted with the Royal Government of Cambodia, led by its Ministry of Health.
The report, presented today to government officials from a range of sectors, as well as to UN agencies and civil society, finds that NCDs kill nearly 60,000 Cambodians every year. Citizens have an approximately 1 in 4 chance of dying ‘prematurely’ between the ages of 30 and 70 from an NCD.
The health impacts from NCDs are only part of the story. The investment case found that, in 2018, NCDs cost Cambodia KHR 5.97 trillion (US$ 1.5 billion) in health care costs and productivity losses, equivalent to 6.6% of gross domestic product (GDP). Health care costs account for approximately 5% of the economic losses, while the remaining 95% are from the enormous burden NCDs impose on the Cambodian workforce.
The investment case illustrates that the social and economic costs from NCDs in Cambodia will only grow without an accelerated national response. Conversely, implementing proven cost-effective policies now would save lives, avoid widespread human suffering, and avert a substantial portion of the projected economic losses.
Cambodia, led by its Ministry of Health, has made great strides in protecting its population from NCDs in recent years. The investment case offers an opportunity to take the national response to new heights.
In the opening remarks, His Excellency Professor Eng Huot, Secretary of State, Ministry of Health, expressed his appreciation of the investment case and emphasized the need to strengthen the government’s response to NCDs. Notably, he shared his concerns about the present and future challenges caused by NCDs.
The Director of Preventive Medicine Department, Ministry of Health, Dr Kol Hero, underscored the importance of working with stakeholder groups in identifying and preventing risk factors, and encouraged them to share their ideas, perspectives and experiences.
WHO Representative in Cambodia, Dr Li Ailan, further stated at the launch, "this is an exciting day for Cambodia. Cambodia has already achieved significant improvements in health and poverty reduction due to stable economic growth, and we need to continue working for our future generations in preventing the prevalence of NCDs. Furthermore, we should be proud that Cambodia is the first country in the Western Pacific Region to launch the WHO FCTC and the NCD investment case report."
Most premature NCD deaths are preventable by addressing tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity, and by ensuring affordable access to clinical interventions. In Cambodia, 33% of men smoke every day, daily salt consumption is almost twice the WHO recommendation, and one in five women is not sufficiently physically active.
The investment case modelled the costs and benefits of implementing prevention policies and clinical interventions, in line with WHO’s ‘Best Buys’ for the prevention and control of NCDs. Implementing the recommended interventions would, over the next 15 years, avert approximately 185,000 deaths, restore 695,000 healthy-life years to individuals and avoid KHR 1.7 trillion (US$ 422 million) in economic losses. The interventions deliver returns in the near- and longer-term; for every KHR invested in the package of tobacco control interventions, for example, Cambodia would receive KHR 5.5 in economic returns by year 5 and KHR 10.7 by year 15.
UNDP Resident Representative Mr Nick Beresford noted that implementing the investment case’s recommendations has the potential to advance sustainable development broadly in Cambodia, but that all relevant parts of Government must work together for this to be a reality.
“The investment case shows in stark terms that the impacts from NCDs extend far beyond the health sector. So too would the benefits from a strengthened national response. For example, raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages would improve health, reduce the social and economic costs associated with poor health, and raise significant revenue for the Government to finance its development priorities. The Ministry of Health, crucial as it is, cannot address NCDs on its own. Dedicated support from sectors such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as well as from Parliamentarians, is critical.”
The NCD investment case for Cambodia builds on the report of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs (UNIATF on NCDs), issued following its joint mission to Cambodia in 2018. That report provides recommendations for strengthening a whole-of-society national NCD response.
A number of countries have benefitted from national NCD investment cases developed by WHO, UNDP and the UNIATF on NCDs, with financial support from the Russian Federation. Today’s report demonstrates that Cambodia too can reduce a major drag on its social and economic transformation.
Russian Ambassador, Dr Dimitry Tsvetkov stated at the launch, "it is our aim to ensure an effective approach to improve health systems and focus on financially effective and result oriented tools to support the Cambodian national goals and improve the overall health of the population."