Cambodia and the United States Advance Health Cooperation Through New Agreements
On April 2, Cambodia and the United States signed a bilateral health cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) to advance shared global health goals. This MOU is the first of its kind in Asia under the Trump Administration’s America First Global Health Strategy (AFGHS). Under the MOU, the United States will continue to collaborate with the Government of Cambodia to support priority global health security programs, particularly in combating infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The DSA establishes protocols to ensure that health data collected and shared within the partnership is managed in accordance with strict privacy and data security standards.
A key objective of the MOU is to strengthen infectious disease surveillance, outbreak response, laboratory networks, and health data systems. Over the five-year period, the United States Government, in coordination with Congress, plans to provide more than USD 30 million, while the Government of Cambodia will increase domestic health expenditures by over USD 5 million. The MOU also establishes a Joint Health Cooperation Steering Committee (JHCSC), composed of senior representatives from both governments and relevant stakeholders, to oversee implementation, monitor progress, and ensure alignment with shared objectives. For U.S. businesses, this partnership may facilitate greater private sector participation in supporting Cambodia’s health system development.
