His Excellency SOK Chenda Sophea, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, received a courtesy call by World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Western Pacific His Excellency Dr. Saia Ma’u Piukala at the Ministry on 21 June 2024.

His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister congratulated His Excellency Dr. Piukala on his election and appointment as WHO Regional Director in January 2024. He commended the WHO’s efforts to advance global health and expressed deep appreciation for its continuous support and contributions to Cambodia’s public health. He also reiterated the Cambodian government’s top priorities in this mandate to expand healthcare services towards achieving Universal Health Coverage. His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister said the focus was on improving the social health protection system and strengthening the capacity of primary medical services at health centres and district referral hospitals as well as improving service quality. In this connection, he expressed Cambodia’s commitment to further enhancing cooperation with the WHO to improve the health and well-being of Cambodian people.

His Excellency Dr. Piukala informed His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister of the endorsement of the WHO Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14), “WHO Strategic Directions 2025-2028” at the recent 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva and progress with the draft WHO Regional Vision “Weaving health for families, communities and societies in the Western Pacific Region.” He also updated His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister on progress with the Cambodia-WHO Country Cooperation Strategy 2024-2028, which is at the final drafting stage. He praised Cambodia for its contribution to global health — particularly the important achievements during Covid-19. He looked forward to continuing strong collaboration, reaffirming that the WHO stands ready to provide support to Cambodia based on the needs and context of the country.