Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Access to clean water in rural areas hits 50%

Access to clean water in rural areas hits 50%

A young girl fills a bottle with water at a village water pump in Preah Vihear's Chheb district last year.
A young girl fills a bottle with water at a village water pump in Preah Vihear's Chheb district last year. Hong Menea

Access to clean water in rural areas hits 50%

Cambodia passed a key Millennium Development Goal milestone last year with half of rural areas now having access to clean drinking water, according to a Ministry of Rural Development annual report released yesterday.

The report also touted improvements to sanitation in rural areas, which brought the level of rural people with access to latrines, hand-washing and hygiene facilities to 46.2 per cent.

But Chray Pom, a Ministry of Rural Development department director, warned there was still a long way to go, with half of Cambodia’s rural population – more than six million people – still lacking clean water.

“In rural areas, it is hard to find clean water, because we do not have enough infrastructure and some families are poor. Some of them do not want to build a latrine,” he said.

Yon Sarom, director of Mondulkiri province rural area department, agreed that sanitation was worse for people in rural areas compared to their city counterparts, with poverty impacting health.

“People living in rural areas are accustomed to living without sanitation. They do not care much about their health,” he said.

According to the report, the department built 189 wells, dug 11 ponds and provided 200 water filters in rural areas last year, with 2,744 latrines constructed in Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Speu and Prey Veng provinces.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Tina rebuffs ‘false claims’ over falling paddy price

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina has shed light on the trade of paddy rice in Battambang – Cambodia’s leading rice-producing province – in a bid to curb what he dubs a “social media fact distortion campaign” to destabilise the market. While acknowledging that the prices of paddy

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm