The Singapore International Foundation Expands Collaboration with Cambodia through its Third Mental Healthcare Initiative to Benefit 30,000 lives by 2024

The COVID-19 outbreak has not only altered life as we know it – with measures such as social distancing and the closure of borders – but it has also made a huge impact on the mental health of healthcare professionals and patients.

Statistics and insights on this matter were shared during the virtual launch of the Enhancing Mental Healthcare Services Project on 25 February 2022. The project is a collaboration between the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) and Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital (KSFH) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The two-year project aims to improve the management and treatment of psychiatric emergencies in KSFH, and two supporting Cambodian health institutions, namely the Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Caritas-CCAMH) and the Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation Cambodia (TPO). It also hopes to make sustainable improvements in mental healthcare by the sharing of expertise and best practices. The project aims to benefit at least 30,000 people in Cambodia by 2024.

As part of activities, Singapore International Volunteers (SIVs) – comprising multidisciplinary professionals from IMH Singapore – will share knowledge and skills with 50 Cambodian healthcare participants.

Twelve participants will then be trained as Master Trainers. This core group will join the SIVs to train other Cambodian participants, to facilitate long-term support for the wider community.

The project marks the SIF’s third mental healthcare initiative in Cambodia, attesting to long-standing ties and the SIF’s dedication to uplifting lives. It follows the success of earlier capacity-building projects in the areas of Child Mental Health (2002-2004) and Counselling for Children at Risk (2007). This resulted in the development of more than 50 Cambodian Master Trainers to provide better care for troubled children and children living with mental illness, and their families.

Dignitaries from both countries attended the launch, including Mr Alvin Koh, Deputy Chief of Mission and Counsellor, Singapore Embassy in Cambodia; His Excellency Prof Ngy Meng, Director, KSFH; and Ms Lee Huay Leng, SIF Governor.

The launch was followed by a symposium at which the mental health impact of COVID-19 was shared in detail by experts from Singapore and Cambodia. They highlighted emerging trends and issues that resulted in mental health issues, the impact caused by the digital divide and the responses and strategies to tackle them.

Dr J Bhoomikumar, Director, Caritas-CCAMH, thanked the SIF for organising the project.

He said: “We are grateful to the SIF and its overseas volunteer programme for more than a decade of help to improve the quality of service at our centre. We are especially grateful that the SIF is starting this project at this crucial time of pandemic to care for the mental health of the Cambodian people.”

Prof Ny Meng of the KFSH added: “I would like to thank our Singapore partners who have helped Cambodia to gain knowledge by sharing Singapore's experiences with our team of doctors and nurses.

“I hope that through this project, our team of healthcare practitioners will gain further knowledge so that they can provide better mental healthcare for our people throughout the country.”

Ms Lee Huay Leng, SIF Governor, noted the enthusiasm shown by the Singaporean and Cambodian communities for the two-year project.

She said: “While the pandemic has disrupted our plans to bring our volunteers to Phnom Penh due to travel restrictions, both sides are committed to continue working virtually. We look forward to having in-person training and hosting our Cambodian participants for a study visit to Singapore.”