Speeches Shim
With USAID support, IRRI has produced and disseminated high-yielding stress-tolerant rice varieties in collaboration with national governments in Asia and Africa. This helps farmers be more resilient to climatic shocks. USAID support has accelerated the dissemination of these varieties in Cambodia with a re-focus on strengthening the national seed system. This is achieved by nurturing the growth of private seed producers, facilitating a greater integration of the private sector in the rice seed value chain, and fostering a policy environment that enables coordination within the value chain. A strong and functional rice seed system will ensure an accelerated dissemination of these rice varieties across the country.
As we all know, Cambodia has suffered through many painful years of civil war, including – but not limited to – the almost unimaginable atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime. During those years, some of the darkest known to humanity, more than 1.7 million Cambodians died from starvation, forced labor, torture, and execution. Why do these atrocities matter to us here and now in 2019? It is because there is no better teacher than the past. The effects of the Khmer Rouge regime still linger for many Cambodians who lived through that terrible period. Remembering and understanding the history of such crimes is critical not only to comprehending where we are today, but also to helping us build a better future as a nation and a society.
It is my great pleasure to join this celebration of the One Health Workforce project. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Korea International Cooperation Agency, KOICA, for funding this activity.
The achievements we will review today could not be realized without the technical support of the Southeast Asia One Health University Network, the collaboration of participating Cambodian universities, key government institutions, and one Health partners.
Two new projects from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will address key healthcare challenges for Cambodians, including maternal and child health, and disease prevention and control. The projects, Enhancing Quality of Healthcare Activity (EQHA) and Promoting Healthy Behaviors (PHB), which launched April 8, 2019, will work with a broad range of key public and private sector health stakeholders and underscore the U.S. government’s support for improving healthcare in Cambodia, today.
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