SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN ACTION: IMPROVING PUBLIC SERVICES FOR CHILDREN IN CAMBODIA

IMPROVING CHILD NUTRITION AND MATERNAL HEALTH ACROSS CAMBODIA’S MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES

World Vision Eswatini supports families affected by extreme weather while advancing long-term solutions to build resilience and reduce future climate shocks.

Deceived by a job offer, Mampho was trafficked in South Africa. With World Vision support, she now runs a spaza shop for her child.

In Torodi, Niger, where insecurity and displacement disrupt children’s lives, World Vision’s “Integrated Emergency & Recovery Assistance” project provides a safe Child-Friendly Space supporting learning, emotional recovery, and social cohesion for over 300 vulnerable children.

In Nabori and Yipala, a World Vision US‑supported mechanised water system transformed life by uniting Muslim and Christian communities. Once divided by faith, families now share clean water, build trust, and collaborate for a better future,showing how water can break barriers and create peace.

• From Participation to Partnership: Child leaders from 13 countries at APFSD 2026 are moving beyond symbolic roles, inviting regional leaders into a shared co-design process and proposing "Innovation Labs" to bridge the gap between policy and the lived realities of their communities.

Cet article met en lumière une crise humanitaire croissante dans le territoire de Nyiragongo, au nord de Goma en République démocratique du Congo où des milliers de personnes déplacées font face à une grave pénurie d’eau. Autrefois refuge pour les populations fuyant les conflits à Rutshuru et Masisi, Nyiragongo peine aujourd’hui à fournir même le plus essentiel des besoins : l’eau potable. Des témoignages comme celui de Florence, une déplacée interne, illustrent l’ampleur de la situation. Les gens attendent des heures dans de longues files, parcourant parfois jusqu’à 8 km, pour avoir une seule chance d’accéder à l’eau, une ressource rare, irrégulière et coûteuse. Cette crise touche particulièrement les enfants et les nourrissons, exposés à la chaleur, à la faim et à des conditions dangereuses autour des points d’eau. L’article lance un appel urgent à l’intervention humanitaire pour rétablir l’accès à l’eau d’urgence, distribuer des kits d’hygiène pour prévenir les épidémies, et assurer la protection des plus vulnérables.

The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany has partnered with World Vision International in Cambodia to deliver life‑saving nutrition and newborn care support to displaced families still living in safety centres across Oddar Meanchey, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap and Preah Vihear. With a contribution of EUR 111,111.11, the project provides essential supplements and therapeutic foods for 2,500 children under five and 1,000 pregnant and lactating women, along with 200 newborn care kits for vulnerable mothers. The support builds on Germany’s earlier assistance in September 2025 and comes at a time when many families continue to face uncertainty and limited access to food and healthcare. The initiative is implemented in coordination with local authorities and health facilities to ensure effective and accountable delivery. World Vision Cambodia’s National Director, Janes I. Ginting, highlighted the ongoing hardships faced by displaced families and expressed gratitude to the German Embassy for its continued commitment. For mothers like Sreynoch, a first‑time mother living in a safety centre, the assistance brings both immediate relief and hope as families await a safe return home.

Famine is not a natural disaster and can be prevented. Across the world’s hunger hotspots, early warnings are clear, yet governments continue to act too late – or not at all. Conflict, blockades, and the denial of humanitarian access, not food scarcity, are driving a deepening hunger crisis, with children suffering first and longest. As aid budgets are cut, the gap between need and response is widening fast. This is a false economy: preventing famine costs far less than responding once lives are already lost. World Vision warns famine can be predicted and prevented – but only if leaders act early, protect civilians, and put children at the centre of hunger prevention.