Background
The National Center for Tuberculosis and Hansen’s Disease coordinates national surveillance, diagnostic services, and treatment protocols for tuberculosis across Cambodia’s public and private health facilities. National tuberculosis services in Cambodia provide care pathways for drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB), drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), and tuberculosis preventive treatment (TPT) that are delivered through primary health centres and referral hospitals.
The Ministry of Health hosted a two-day technical consultation on 12–13 May 2026 to begin developing the SAPPHIRE 2.0 project, a program-level initiative focused on strengthening TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The consultation brought together the National Center for Tuberculosis and Hansen’s Disease, KHANA, the University of Sydney, World Health Organization and other partners supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to identify priority components for national programme design.
Key Developments
The workshop took place in Phnom Penh on 12–13 May 2026 and was opened by the Director General of Technical Health (ឯកឧត្តម វេជ្ជបណ្ឌិត ហុក គឹមចេង). Objectives stated by organisers included: (1) presenting the current status of the SHIFT-TB project and associated risk factors, (2) soliciting stakeholder input to define priority elements for SAPPHIRE 2.0, and (3) supporting joint development of a strategy for those priority components.
Participants included senior staff from the National Center for Tuberculosis and Hansen’s Disease, លោកវេជ្ជបណ្ឌិត ហួត ចាន់យុដា, Kirsty Harris (Development Coordinator, Australian Embassy in Cambodia), ជួប សុខចំរើន (KHANA), representatives from the University of Sydney, the World Health Organization, CHAI, and a mix of national and international technical partners, totaling approximately 30 attendees.
Institutional Role
KHANA and academic partners were positioned in the workshop as technical collaborators to support programme design and operational research, while DFAT provided the funding envelope mentioned by organisers. The National Center for Tuberculosis and Hansen’s Disease retains the lead role for translating workshop inputs into national implementation planning and coordinating between public and private health providers.
Operational Implications
The consultation aimed to inform operational planning for SAPPHIRE 2.0 across service delivery points, including primary health centres and referral hospitals, with specific attention to DS-TB, DR-TB, and TPT service packages. Workshop discussions emphasised strengthening treatment protocols, preventing drug resistance through appropriate clinical management, and identifying high-risk groups such as household contacts and health workers for targeted case-finding and preventive therapy.
Source: Ministry of Health (Facebook post), 12–13 May 2026 — https://www.facebook.com/MinistryofHealthofCambodia/posts/pfbid038MnxxkeJ9hEisnHUFGEWteAj9XnED7XS6T4aFrYJzKXnqgBUnfj8XA8rBRh3F2byl
