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Opinion: Cambodia Needs a Gender and Health Command System — Not More Fragmented Crisis Responses
- Apr 4
- 5 min read
By Mynea Yi
IPF
Future Forum's junior research fellow Mynea Yi was published in Cambodianess on April 4th, 2026. Check out the original article HERE, and read it below!
Recent and ongoing border tensions with Thailand have made one thing very clear: Cambodia needs stronger, more reliable access to healthcare during crises. And this isn’t just about conflict. The country is also facing more frequent and intense climate-related disasters, which are already deepening existing health gaps and gender inequalities.
At the same time, some development partners point out that weak financial management systems are slowing down how effectively aid is delivered—meaning help doesn’t always reach people as quickly or efficiently as it should.
A 2025 report from UN Women highlights just how uneven the situation is. It found that 19 percent of displaced women in Cambodia struggled to access basic healthcare and hygiene products, compared to 13 percent of the general population. At first glance, that gap may seem small, but it uncovers a deeper issue: crisis responses still fail to fully consider women's needs.
To be fair, Cambodia isn’t lacking in policy. The National Emergency Framework and the National Climate Change Strategic Plan are two examples of frameworks that already recognize the links between gender, health, and vulnerability. The problem is what happens next. These policies often fall short in coordination—especially in monitoring, reporting, and implementing plans across sectors.
Research from 2024 points to another major challenge: aid fragmentation. In simple terms, funding is spread across too many small, disconnected programs. Instead of working together, efforts can end up overlapping—or worse, leaving critical gaps. All of this suggests that the issue isn’t a lack of intent but a lack of coordination. The pieces are there, but they’re not working together as effectively as they could.
One practical way forward would be to create a dedicated Gender and Health Coordination Mechanism. This could be led by Cambodia’s National Committee for Disaster Management, with strong backing from the Ministries of Health and Women’s Affairs.
To really make it work, this mechanism would need to bring both government and aid partners under a more unified system. That means clearer communication, shared data, and coordinated planning—so that everything from maternal healthcare to gender-based violence prevention is aligned, rather than scattered across separate initiatives.
Building an Integrated Data and Monitoring Platform
Cambodia’s current humanitarian coordination challenges are not unique in Southeast Asia. Facing similar challenges, other countries have adopted similar coordination systems and shown measurable improvements. For example, the Philippines strengthened gender-responsive disaster risk management by embedding gender guidance across its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), reducing duplication among ministries and improving alignment between national and local interventions.
This reform was recognized by the United Nations, which cited the model as “leading the way” at the launch of the Sendai Gender Action Plan.
Similarly, Vietnam’s UN-managed pooled funding mechanism, the One Plan Fund II, streamlined funding and reporting, reduced double reporting, and improved coherence across ministries and UN partners. Additionally, the UN’s report in 2024 also demonstrates that integrated coordination systems not only enhance efficiency but also sustain gender-responsive priorities through predictable and accountable structures.
This is exactly where a Gender and Health Coordination Mechanism (GHCM) might benefit from an integrated data and monitoring platform.
The Gender and Health Coordination Mechanism (GHCM) could introduce a digital platform that connects existing data systems from the MoH, MoWA, and development partners. For instance, during the launch of the inclusion of the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) in the national health strategies, the UNFPA expressed its support for providing technical and financial assistance to ensure that women and girls have inclusive access to rights during disasters or emergencies.
If this support were integrated with the proposed digital platform, it would allow real-time mapping of vulnerable populations, health facilities, and shelters with gender-sensitive infrastructure. We can reference the World Vision International and the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) project, in which they track, compare and visualize a variety of child vulnerability measures across the world.
Currently, Cambodia does have climate change prediction maps, though the availability of comprehensive data on human mobility in this context is still limited, making it difficult to identify specific patterns and assess the risk and patterns of future displacement. There is a need for further development and integration with other data sources. In support of the MISP, this digital platform would also track ongoing aid distribution and service delivery, helping decision-makers quickly identify where resources are lacking or duplicated.
A practical first step would be to pilot the digital platform in disaster-prone provinces over a 12 to 18-month period. According to a study, Battambang is one of the top three provinces suffering from drought and flood, with flash floods recently affecting 26 families and 18.5 hectares of crops.
Selecting Battambang as the first province, the pilot phase would allow national and provincial authorities to test data-sharing protocols, build local technical capacity, and refine coordination workflows before scaling the system nationwide. Hence, lessons from the pilot sites could guide the national rollout and capacity-building for provincial coordination teams.
In terms of financing, initial funding could be mobilized through a combination of reprogrammed disaster risk reduction budgets that we already have. We will also need development partner support at the start of the pilot phase, particularly from agencies already engaged in gender, health, and humanitarian coordination, such as UNDP, UN Women, and the World Bank.
For instance, in the past, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and ActionAid have partnered to fund a project to increase gender equality in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and early warning systems (EWS) across Cambodia. By drawing on their expertise and support, Cambodia can pilot our own system to eventually reduce reliance on external funding and ensure sustainability.
In addition to improving domestic decision-making, this digital integration would also strengthen Cambodia’s reporting under the Sendai Framework and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Additionally, we can also see that the Cambodian government has already planned to localize the global Sendai Gender Action Plan to foster joint commitments toward gender-transformative disaster risk reduction in Cambodia. Therefore, the proposed GHCM will support this plan and lead to improved quality of care, faster recovery, and more efficient resource allocation during disasters.
What’s next?
Cambodia is well-positioned to achieve success with the Gender and Health Coordination Mechanism because we already have several key advantages in place. First, we already have national institutions, the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), which have clearly defined mandates for gender mainstreaming across sectoral ministries and subnational structures.
Second, we benefit from a network of experienced civil society organizations such as the World Vision, Plan International and other UN partners who have worked together on joint gender programming and have valuable operational knowledge.
Third, there is a growing emphasis on gender-responsive governance, as seen in recent measures such as the proposal to localize the global Sendai Gender Action Plan and other national strategies, demonstrating both preparation and commitment. The foundation has already been established. What is missing is not intention or expertise, but an operational system that ties all these components together.
By establishing a Gender and Health Coordination Mechanism under the NCDM, Cambodia can turn fragmented responses into a unified approach, where all stakeholders follow a single system. With an integrated data platform, shared accountability, and a rapid response fund, we can build humanitarian responses that are faster, fairer, and more resilient.
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