Background
Surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia services are core components of a health system because they support emergency care, maternal health, trauma treatment, and other time-sensitive medical interventions. In Cambodia, access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care is linked to the government’s broader universal health coverage agenda and the strengthening of service delivery across national and subnational health facilities.
Cambodia’s health sector planning framework includes long-term strategies that guide service quality, workforce development, infrastructure readiness, and referral systems. A national surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia plan functions as a governance mechanism for aligning hospitals, professional committees, and health facilities around common standards, capacity expansion, and coordinated implementation.
The Ministry of Health stated that the National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Policy and Strategic Plan 2026-2035, referred to as NSOAP 2026-2035, is being introduced for the first time in Cambodia. According to the ministry, the plan is intended to help ensure that people in Cambodia can access safe, effective, timely, and affordable surgical, obstetric, anesthesia, and emergency services by 2035.
Key Developments
On 2 April 2026 in Phnom Penh, Health Minister Chheang Ra attended the official launch of the National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Policy and Strategic Plan in health facilities for 2026-2035.
The Ministry of Health described the plan as a major health-sector achievement and said it is designed to support access to quality surgical, obstetric, anesthesia, and emergency services. The ministry linked the plan to national priorities set out in the government’s 2023-2028 policy program, Cambodia’s Universal Health Coverage Roadmap 2024-2035, and the Health Strategic Plan 2025-2034 (HSP4).
According to the ministry, NSOAP 2026-2035 establishes a national implementation framework for transformation and innovation in surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia services, with a stated focus on quality, safety, timeliness, affordability, dignity, equity, and inclusion. The minister also issued implementation guidance that included strengthening governance and coordination mechanisms, reinforcing the role of the national surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia committee, and improving coordination between national and subnational levels.
The ministry further called for expanded capacity to deliver essential surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia services, particularly at CPA2 hospitals and private health facilities.
Implications
The launch of NSOAP 2026-2035 gives Cambodia a formal long-term policy framework for planning surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia service delivery within the public health system. For health administrators and providers, the plan signals greater emphasis on governance, facility readiness, service capacity, and coordinated implementation across different levels of the health system.
For development partners, private health facilities, and healthcare investors, the plan provides a reference point for future alignment with national priorities in clinical service expansion, health workforce support, and hospital-level capability development. It also indicates that surgical and emergency care access will remain part of Cambodia’s broader health system reform and universal health coverage agenda through 2035.
Official Source
Ministry of Health of Cambodia, announcement on the launch of the National Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthesia Policy and Strategic Plan 2026-2035, published on 2 April 2026.
