Fondation Kantha Bopha – Dr med. Beat Richner

Project completed

25 years of Dr Richner’s tireless efforts resulted in millions of children receiving free quality medical care at Kantha Bopha Hospitals. Despite his retirement early 2017, the five hospitals are operating smoothly with the management model he set up and the commitment of the Royal Government of Cambodia to maintain it. SDC’s financial support remains crucial until a sustainable Cambodian financing is found.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Cambodia
Governance
Health
nothemedefined
Public sector policy
Primary health care
Health systems strengthening
Infectious desease
Medical services
01.01.2019 - 31.03.2023
CHF  16’400’000
Background The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) is committed to achieving universal health coverage by 2030 as indicated in the Sustainable Development Goal 3. With this commitment, social insurance coverage has been scaled up at a faster speed. Despite improvements in health coverage, more remains to be done for approximately 70% of Cambodian people that are without insurance scheme and quality health facilities. The Kantha Bopha Hospitals (KBH) offers free health care to children and expecting women regardless of whether they are insured or not. The hospitals are bridging the inequity gap in access to quality health services.
Objectives The goal is to contribute to the improvement of child and maternal health through equitable and responsive public health services, as well as sustainable health financing.
Target groups
  • Children (<15 years) and expecting mothers in Cambodia
  • Accompanying caregivers of patients
  • Cambodian health personnel (doctors and nursing staff)
Medium-term outcomes

KBH objectives:

1. Contribution to the reduction of the 2014 maternal mortality rate (>170/100,000 live births).

2. Contribution to the reduction of 2014 neonatal and child mortality rate (>27/1000 live births).

SDC objectives:

3. The Cambodian Kantha Bopha Foundation’s and the Royal Government of Cambodia’s public health financing are disbursed upfront and able to cover 80% of the total KBH expenditure by 2028 (and 46% by 2021), making them less dependent on public and private fundraising in Switzerland.

4. Expansion and replication of elements of the Hospitals as a standard child healthcare model in Cambodia. The model is evidence-based, understood and promoted by health sector authorities in Cambodia.

     

Results

Expected results:  

  • Dialogue with the relevant authorities for the sustainable financing of KBH by RGC and CKF.
  • Advocacy for the development by KBH and KBF of a financing strategy and a formalization of all contracts between KB and their partners.
  • Process evaluations and enhanced reporting on the KBH by a thorough cost-benefit analysis.
  • Facilitation of the acceptance of KBH model in public health institutions and networks. Follow-up on the decentralization reform in contribution to integration of the KBH model.
  • inputs on evidence-based analysis and studies; contributions to pro-poor health financing and insurance models or reforms, as co-secretariat of a group of development partners leading discussions on health financing policies in Cambodia (P4HC+).


Results from previous phases:  

In 2016, Kantha Bopha Hospitals treated 65% of Cambodian patients for pediatric and maternal health cases. From 2015 to 2017, KBH increased its number of patients and operations significantly:

  • Inpatients: from 137’270 to 147’515 children in 2017 (+6.9%);
  • Outpatients: from 756’006 to 909’192 cases in 2017 (+17%);
  • Maternity department: from 21’900 to 29’828 deliveries in 2017 (+27%).

The Hospitals progressed on their sustainable financing and on the upkeep of their management model, thank to :

  • a regular and strengthened high-level dialogue between the hospitals and Foundation with the RGC and SDC;
  • the establishment of a Cambodian Kantha Bopha Foundation (CKF) with aim to guarantees KBH’s operating model and financial sustainability.
  • the raising awareness to other development partners about KBH’s cost effectiveness through the active participation of SDC in health financing working groups.


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Credit area Development cooperation
Project partners Contract partner
International or foreign NGO
Private sector
Swiss Non-profit Organisation
  • Kantha Bopha Foundation
  • Foreign private sector South/East


Other partners

Ministry of Interior/ NCDD-Secretariat,

P4HC+ members (WHO, BMZ/GIZ Unicef, USAid, JICA, KOICA, etc.)

Coordination with other projects and actors KBH, RGC’s ministries of Health, of Economy and Finance, and of Tourism, CKF, Children’s Hospital Zürich
Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    16’400’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    16’338’055
Project phases Phase 10 01.01.2023 - 31.12.2027   (Current phase)

Phase 9 01.01.2019 - 31.03.2023   (Completed)

Phase 8 01.09.2016 - 31.07.2019   (Completed) Phase 7 01.05.2013 - 31.12.2016   (Completed) Phase 6 01.01.2010 - 31.12.2012   (Completed)