Cambodia has participated in and endorsed International Conferences and Reservations on the International Conference on Population & Development (ICPD) Programme of Action (PoA). These are: ICPD (1994), Beijing Platform for Action (1995) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) (2000).^[i] 

Every day 6 women die a maternal death in the Cambodia, and it continues to record high maternal mortality ratios (MMR) of 540/100, 000 live births, one of the highest in the South-east Asia region.^[ii] Low Contraceptive Prevalence Rates (CPR) of 27%^[iii] (any modern method) in 2005 (modern methods), and a high prevalence of unsafe abortions (an estimated 20-29% of maternal deaths in Cambodia are due to unsafe abortion), the low utilization of key services, particularly in remote areas due to limited geographic and financial access to health services, poor staff motivation and infrastructure, scarcity of midwives, shortfalls in basic materials and coverage of running costs, and insufficient coverage of emergency obstetric and newborn care  are crucial factors contributing to the high maternal deaths^[iv]. Over one fifth of the illness-related causes of death of women in the age group 15-44 years are due to pregnancy related complications.^[v] 

Reproductive health and maternal health are critical issues in Cambodia since maternal mortality and morbidity have a significant long term economic consequence on households and on society. Despite the Government’s commitment to Reproductive and Sexual Health (RSH), Cambodia has in recent years failed to meet almost all of its RSH goals.^[vi]

Abortion is legal at the woman’s request before 12 weeks of pregnancy, but access in reality is limited, especially for poor women. All public facilities do not provide abortion services, and abortion is also carried out illegally in private practices, sometimes unsafely.^[vii] 

In the 1980s access to modern contraception was almost zero, and there were hardly any trained health staff in Cambodia. Family planning services and modern contraceptives started to become available only in 1991, and the first contraceptive prevalence recorded in Cambodia was 7.0%, in 1995. The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) (modern contraceptives only) increased steadily to 18.5% in 2000 and to 27.2 % in 2005.^[viii] 

In spite of these gains in the CPR and in the use of Family Planning (FP), unplanned pregnancies remain very common in Cambodia: about a third of married women reported one or more unplanned pregnancies. Of married women interviewed, 25% reported an unmet need for family planning. These typically occur as a result of either never using FP, using a less reliable method, using it incorrectly, over-reliance on the protection afforded by breastfeeding or not breast feeding exclusively, or discontinuing use of FP because of side effects/health concerns. 38% of women who have stopped using a modern method of FP report having had an unplanned pregnancy.^[ix]

One major factor affecting the CPR is a common and incorrect belief in Cambodia that modern methods of FP can cause infertility, especially when used before having had at least one child.  It is quite likely that such incorrect beliefs are hindering many Cambodian women from practicing family planning or birth spacing, leading to the high rate of unplanned pregnancies, and contributing to low utilization of quality maternal health and FP services.^[x]

Average age at sexual debut remains relatively high in global comparison, and sexual debut and marriage often go hand in hand. Teenage pregnancies are thus comparatively rare. The recent census even showed a rise in average age at marriage, at 22 years for women and 23 years for men. A different life style, with an earlier sexual debut, and sex outside marriage, does also exist, however, and young people also need reproductive and sexual health services. Sex trafficking and prostitution remain common in Cambodia.^[xi]

ARROW's Work in Cambodia

ARROW's Monitoring Reports on Cambodia

ARROW's Resources on Cambodia