Background
The Ministry of Health is advancing a tiered regulatory framework to define facility responsibilities and clinical capabilities for neonatal services as part of its 2025–2030 roadmap to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality. The Ministry of Health’s neonatal care roadmap (2025–2030) defines CPA1, CPA2 and CPA3 as tiered clinical levels for neonatal services.
On 3 June 2026 in Phnom Penh, State Secretary Professor Oum Sittikar chaired a meeting to discuss creation of neonatal care levels and updating national neonatal care principles. Participants included ministry leaders, directors from national and sub-national hospitals, specialist neonatologists and representatives from JICA, totaling 20 attendees.
Scope of Application
The proposed care-level framework is intended to apply across public hospital tiers, with particular focus on national and affiliated referral maternity hospitals and specialist neonatal units. The scope covers clinical service definitions, referral arrangements and capacity-strengthening measures relevant to facilities that provide perinatal and neonatal care.
Key Provisions or Decisions
The State Secretary recommended four principal actions: establish clear clinical indications for caesarean delivery; promote cross-level leadership cooperation between national and referral maternity hospitals to support perinatal and neonatal care; strengthen the patient referral system to improve efficiency and safety; and develop a neonatal clinical mentorship program to build clinician capacity within the hospital network.
Implications for Investors, Businesses, or Compliance
If formalized as national guidance, the CPA1–CPA3 framework would set facility-level service expectations and referral protocols that hospitals and clinical departments must organize to align with national neonatal care principles. Health training providers, hospital administrators and clinical governance units should expect to adapt clinical protocols, documentation and staff mentorship programs to meet the care-level specifications once adopted.
Official Source
Ministry of Health Facebook post, 3 June 2026: source.
