National Social Welfare System for People with Disabilities

Central Government

Five Cambodian Government ministries and their line departments directly or indirectly offer social welfare support for the general population, including people with disabilities. These ministries are mainly responsible for providing opportunities to PWD to be included in mainstream society. However, as PWD are not their specific target groups, programmes and projects are usually designed for the general population. The five ministries are:

Ministry of Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSALVY)
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS)
Ministry of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs (MWVA)
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Rural Development

Cambodian National Assembly The Ministry of Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSALVY) is the core ministry with the responsibility for providing rehabilitation and vocational skills training services to PWD. Within MOSALVY, the Department of Rehabilitation and the Department of Children’s Welfare are responsible for carrying out and supporting activities relating to PWD, including Children with Disabilities. Provincial Rehabilitation Centres, under the Department of Rehabilitation, provide free-of-charge rehabilitation services to PWD.

Within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS), a Special Education Office is responsible for promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities.

The Ministry of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs (MWVA) is responsible for pensions of disabled veterans. There are no universal social security benefit entitlements in Cambodia.

Almost 50 percent of the 1999 National Budget was allocated to defence and national security – nearly twice as much as the health, education, environment, social and women’s affairs sectors combined. This imbalance has decreased only slightly since then. In practice, therefore, due to the lack of resources of government ministries, NGOs and international organisations have been the main implementers of programmes and services for PWD.

National Coordinating Body for Disability and Rehabilitation

To avoid overlapping of services and to maximise the use of resources, as well as to strengthen collaboration between relevant government institutions and NGOs working in the disability and rehabilitation sector, the Disability Action Council was established in 1997. More details are available in the About DAC section of this website.

Local Government

Each ministry has provincial offices; however, only cities and larger provinces have district offices. Accessibility to rural areas, where most PWD are concentrated, is severely hampered by the under-developed infrastructure. Collaboration between relevant ministries thus needs to be forged to address the needs of PWD. As the government has limited resources to implement activities, NGOs and international organisations implement most activities at the community level.

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National Social Welfare System for People with Disabilities Central Government Five Cambodian Government ministries and their line departments directly or indirectly offer social welfare support for the general population, including people with disabilities. These ministries are mainly responsible for providing opportunities to PWD to be included in mainstream society. However, as PWD are not their specific target groups, programmes and projects are usually designed for the general population. The five ministries are: Ministry of Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSALVY) Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS) Ministry of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs (MWVA) Ministry of Health Ministry of Rural Development The Ministry of Labour, Vocational Training and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSALVY) is the core ministry with the responsibility for providing rehabilitation and vocational skills training services to PWD. Within MOSALVY, the Department of Rehabilitation and the Department of Children’s Welfare are responsible for carrying out and supporting activities relating to PWD, including Children with Disabilities. Provincial Rehabilitation Centres, under the Department of Rehabilitation, provide free-of-charge rehabilitation services to PWD. Within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MOEYS), a Special Education Office is responsible for promoting inclusive education for children with disabilities. The Ministry of Women’s and Veterans’ Affairs (MWVA) is responsible for pensions of disabled veterans. There are no universal social security benefit entitlements in Cambodia. Almost 50 percent of the 1999 National Budget was allocated to defence and national security – nearly twice as much as the health, education, environment, social and women’s affairs sectors combined. This imbalance has decreased only slightly since then. In practice, therefore, due to the lack of resources of government ministries, NGOs and international organisations have been the main implementers of programmes and services for PWD. National Coordinating Body for Disability and Rehabilitation To avoid overlapping of services and to maximise the use of resources, as well as to strengthen collaboration between relevant government institutions and NGOs working in the disability and rehabilitation sector, the Disability Action Council was established in 1997. More details are available in the About DAC section of this website. Local Government Each ministry has provincial offices; however, only cities and larger provinces have district offices. Accessibility to rural areas, where most PWD are concentrated, is severely hampered by the under-developed infrastructure. Collaboration between relevant ministries thus needs to be forged to address the needs of PWD. As the government has limited resources to implement activities, NGOs and international organisations implement most activities at the community level.
Page last updated 23-Jul-2003 22:45 © Disability Action Council