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Crossing Continents: Cambodia: Trust Me, I'm not a Doctor

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Cambodia: Trust Me, I'm not a Doctor

17/12/2015

BBC Radio 4 - Crossing Continents, Cambodia: Trust Me, I'm not a Doctor

The risks people take in rural Cambodia to get basic healthcare.

A recent health scandal in Cambodia has prompted the government to clamp down on unlicensed doctors. But these 'doctors' are often the preferred option for many in the countryside.

The Cambodian government has recently announced a clampdown on unlicensed doctors. This comes after a mass infection of HIV in a rural village, blamed on an unlicensed doctor re-using syringes. The "doctor", recently convicted of manslaughter, has just begun a 25 year prison sentence.

For millions of people, self-taught, unlicensed doctors are often their cheapest - and only - option if they fall ill. Cambodia has one of the world's lowest numbers of doctors per head of population, on a par with Afghanistan. For Crossing Continents, John Murphy travels outside the capital Phnom Penh to see whether the government clampdown is having an effect. He finds evidence that self-taught doctors are still operating in villages, without hindrance - and with plenty of local support. Producer Helen Grady.

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