The United States to provide 35.1 million USD in 2010 funding from the USAID

Washington (VNA) - The United States will provide 35.1 million USD in 2010
funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support and
strengthen Cambodian development priorities in health and education.

Amendments to two bilateral agreements relating to the above grants will be signed
in Cambodia on September 28, said a Sept. 27 press release by the U.S. side.


The amendment to the health agreement provides 33.55 million USD in grant funds to
support a variety of ongoing activities to reduce the transmission and impact of
HIV/AIDS; to prevent and control major infectious diseases such as tuberculosis;
to improve maternal, reproductive, and children’s health; and to strengthen
Cambodian public health systems and the government’s national health priorities.


The amendment to the education agreement provides 1.55 million USD in grant funds
to support ongoing education programs aimed at improving the quality and relevance
of basic education and increasing access to schooling for all children, including
minorities, people with disabilities, and the very poor. Activities will also
focus on reducing school dropout and repetition rates through improvements in
teaching quality, school management training, and measuring student academic
achievement.

According to USAID, its total funding commitment in health and education through
the life of the bilateral agreement is over 277 million USD. In addition to health
and education activities, USAID supports a broad range of programmes designed to
benefit all Cambodians in areas such as human rights, rule of law, local
governance and decentralization, anti-corruption, natural resource management,
economic growth, and combating trafficking in persons. USAID expects to commit
a total of 69 million USD in assistance to Cambodia in 2010.- Enditem