Background
On 3 September 2026 the Ministry of Health held a leadership-level working group meeting in Phnom Penh, led by Undersecretary Dr O Vannidin to follow up on PHC-BIF implementation and updated group composition. Decision No. 0198/26 dated 13 August 2026 revised the composition of the PHC-BIF development and governance working group.
PHC-BIF is a ministry-level implementation framework intended to coordinate multi-department technical support to expand and strengthen primary health care services at health centers and commune level. The meeting assembled 24 participants, including ministry technical officers and a World Health Organization representative to review implementation progress and next steps.
Key Developments
The meeting covered the following implementation and coordination items reported by the Ministry of Health:
- Formal announcement and review of Decision No. 0198/26 which updates PHC-BIF working group composition and the secretariat role.
- Presentations on current progress and status of PHC-BIF implementation at national and subnational levels.
- Review of a national-level common planning template for primary health care to guide lower-level adoption.
- Discussion of clarified roles and tasks for the PHC-BIF development and governance working group and the secretariat for onward engagement with technical departments.
- Technical support requests and offers from relevant departments, plus WHO, to strengthen commune-level service delivery and planning.
Institutional Role
The Ministry identified specific departmental contributions to PHC-BIF operationalization: the Digital Health Department was asked to advance digital functions at health centers to reduce reporting burden; the Planning and Health Information Department will assess key indicators for the 2027 planning cycle; and the Department of Health Services will review feasibility of campaigns such as community-level screening for non-communicable disease risk factors. The Department of Pharmaceutical Services was encouraged to reinforce medicine management at health centers, and WHO was requested to support capacity building for planning at commune and sangkat levels.
Operational Implications
Participants emphasized integrating commune-level community health plans into commune development plans and using the national common template to improve planning efficiency. The Ministry encouraged completion of pilot model plans in Pursat and Preah Vihear provinces and continued rollout of harmonized model plans in Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng and Battambang according to schedule. These steps are intended to strengthen the PHC-BIF secretariat’s coordination role across technical departments and at subnational levels.
Source: Ministry of Health Facebook post, 3 September 2026: https://www.facebook.com/MinistryofHealthofCambodia/posts/pfbid02jwvysrBWuAR6sM4UHf11gMUN46LRFw4HpipdZhq65z8rZfkxhnkKtMPrjL67hYs7l
