Quarterly Review 1 – 2023
Planned expansion activities (under current MoU 2021-2023): During the first quarter of 2023, we joined the Provincial NGO meeting in Tboung Khmum province to introduce MoPoTsyo and explain our program. In fact, our contacts with Krouch Chhmar OD in TBK province date from before COVID-19 but setting-up the program there had been delayed. The discussion was positive: we agreed and signed the Memorandum of Agreement. Next, our staff went there to help identify suitable candidates for peer educator training. The 1st group was trained (in Phnom Penh) and returned to start primary prevention in the communities. The MoPoTsyo support for medical services should start during the 2nd quarter, after the peer educators have registered sufficient patients and after the refresher training of the doctors. For the same purpose, we also visited Cheung Prey OD in Kampong Cham to discuss with the OD Director about if and when to start at the Referral Hospital. MoPoTsyo received a support letter from PHD to start the program. Within Phnom Penh Municipality, we met with Referral Hospital Samdech Euv in OD Mekong and agreed with OD Director and Hospital to go visit to Posenchey RH to see how it works. That visit went well and OD Mekong expressed interest in the program. We visited Banteay Meanchey province to discuss with PHD about including another OD in the future, in addition to Thmar Pouk OD. As the MoH has begun the implement the new H-EQIP program, our supportive role in primary care will adapt to new realities.
Preparing support for 2 new provinces: Prey Veng and Pursat: We met with Provincial Health Department (PHD) in Prey Veng to discuss the idea to set up a peer educator network for diabetes and hypertension in one of the Operational Districts their province. Next a delegation from Prey Veng (representative from PHD Prey Veng and OD Peam Ro), and also from Pursat province (PHD Director and key officials from OD Krakor) went on an official visit to Kong Pisey OD in Kampong Speu province to see the intervention in action. Over there, it has been working for 13 years, since 2010. The discussions so far are very positive, but as NGO we will have to wait for high level permissions. If positive, these will be reflected in a Memorandum of Agreement with Ministry of Health 2024-2026.
Training: Nine candidate peer educators completed their 5-week training to become Peer Educator. They are from Krouch Chhmar, Takeo and Kratie. Doctor Refresher Trainings: We signed a new agreement with Center of Hope. The first doctors will be trained in Q2 right after Khmer New Year.
Our Laboratory was officially assessed by same qualified assessor as in 2013, this time using WHO SLIPTA tools that were adapted for Cambodia. The rest of this year we will make improvements following recommendations and get coaching. Mainly, we have to create more Standard Operating Procedures.
A change of service-location: In Thmar Pouk OD we moved the medical consultations into the Referral Hospital of Thmar Pouk. So far, these were being done at the Health Center Komrou, which is itself located inside the Hospital compound. The Revolving Drug Fund does not yet move out of HC yet. The hospital doctors are doing the medical consultations.
Relaunch: PHD Kompong Speu assigned 1 medical doctor to provide consultation at Dom Kravanh HC in Kampong Speu. Consultation took place Friday 27, January 2023. Large numbers of patients attended.
Supplies and Revolving Drug Fund: Because of the packaging in 100 Tablets per pot instead of 1000 Tablets per pot, the total volume of our stocks has increased a lot. We must rent extra stock. We began to supply the locally bought Insulin 30G syringes and it is going well.
Meetings:
MoH: On 31 January 2023, MoPoTsyo was presenting its achievements in the Sub Technical Working Group on NCD organized by MoH-PMD under the H-EQIP II project. We explained that we need a new MoU 2024-2026 to be able to continue another 3 years.
STEP Survey 2023 is being prepared. This will give a updated snapshot of the prevalence of NCD in Cambodia. The data will be comparable with earlier surveys, so we will get a much better idea of the trends that have been at work over the past 10-15 years in urban and rural areas in Cambodia. Data analysis results will be available during Q4. This is going to be very helpful.
KOFIH had organized an interesting workshop to consult main stakeholders on the improvement of quality of Health Care Services and Strengthening the NCD Management program. NIPH joined and issued a call for more experimentation or implementation-oriented research to find the best way forward to meet the various challenges in developing the best policies. It may be time to encourage Health Centers and small hospitals to try to find out how they can make things work. The most common attitude so far has often been to wait for instructions coming from central level. Decentralization is a transition process that does not happen overnight by approving the law.
Finances: So far, the patients are accepting the new prices, in particular because our peer educator networks have communicated a lot to explain the reasons. Our donors from Australia and Switzerland sent their donations. With the new accounting, we split accounting in 2: social enterprise and donor funding. We had submitted the applications and documents and we paid the fee to register as a medium size enterprise. Tax office has visited our office. We are waiting for what happens next.
Audit 2022 was completed and everything is ok.