Red Cross gives $1 million to Kantha Bopha Foundation

Red Cross gives $1 million to Kantha Bopha Foundation

The Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) on Tuesday donated $1 million to the Cambodia Kantha Bopha Foundation for the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital.

The Foundation said in a press release on Monday that the handover ceremony for the funds was held at the CRC headquarters.

Annie Sok An, a representative for CRC president Bun Rany Hun Sen, said the cheque was handed to Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth and the chairman of the Foundation’s board of trustees.

The Foundation cited Pornmoniroth as saying that the Covid-19 pandemic had diluted donations from the public while the decline in international tourists to Siem Reap had also hurt as the proceeds from visitors to Angkor Wat go towards the Foundation.

“The assistance of the government and the CRC for this Foundation has not declined despite the Covid-19 pandemic,” the press release said.

Pornmoniroth and Sok An expressed regret over the passing of Beat Richner, the founder of Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital, and Dr Peter Studer, the vice-chairman of the board and the executive director of the Swiss-based Kantha Bopha Foundation.

The Secretariat of the Foundation told The Post on Tuesday that the CRC had always offered $1 million to the Foundation every year since it was established in 2018.

The Foundation thanked the CRC and the government for the $1 million, saying it was the ninth time that they had made such contributions to its hospitals.

It said in the first five months of this year, 288,295 children had been checked and received consultation at the hospitals’ outpatient wards and 59,116 seriously ill children had been hospitalised.

Among the number, 987 had been treated for fever, 9,510 had undergone surgeries, of which 421 were for heart surgeries.

Besides treating children, the Jayavarman VII Hospital in Siem Reap province also has a maternity ward. In the first five months of this year, 55,543 pregnant women had been checked and 9,354 women delivered babies there.

The Foundation director-general Dr Denis Laurent said on Tuesday that contributions by the CRC and the government were a good sign, especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s an excellent sign from the CRC and the government, especially during the Covid-19 situation. The authorities have always shown that they want to support Kantha Bopha even after the passing of my two bosses,” he said

Credited: The Phnom Penh Post