Cooperation & Health : Over 100 young Cambodian doctors to continue their training in France

To celebrate the departure of young Cambodian doctors to France to continue their training, the French Embassy organized a reception at the Residence of France in their honor on October 16, 2024, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. CHHEANG Ra, Minister of Health.

This year, 2024, marks an exceptional graduating class, with the departure of 115 students under the “DFMS/DFMSA” scheme, as well as 18 associate trainee doctors, acting as medicine residents who go through the normal university route, testifying to the improvement in 3rd cycle medical education.

The “DFMS” and “DFMSA” scheme (Diplôme de Formation Médicale Spécialisée/Approfondie - Specialized/in-depth Medical Training Diploma) enables foreign doctors or pharmacists, who hold a diploma entitling them to practice medicine or pharmacy in their country of origin or residence, to follow a course of specialization in France for at least one year. They benefit from theoretical instruction and practical training courses. Since 1996, more than 1,000 Cambodian medical and pharmaceutical students have completed their training in France in various medical specialties under this scheme.

“The opportunity to welcome you today is a profound recognition of your exceptional career, and an expression of the esteem in which we hold your significant contribution to the field of health, not only in Cambodia but also in the wider context of international cooperation. In a way, you are the “ambassadors” of French higher education and the French language”, said the French Ambassador to Cambodia, Mr. Jacques Pellet, at the reception.

Franco-Cambodian cooperation in the healthcare sector has grown considerably over the past thirty years

Franco-Cambodian cooperation in the healthcare sector has grown considerably over the past thirty years. In addition to training, the two countries have intensified their links in the field of research, as demonstrated by the “Scientific Research Days on Infectious Diseases” of the ANRS-MIE partner site in Cambodia, recently held in Siem Reap on October 10 and 11. France and Cambodia are also working together on the multilateral stage to meet global health challenges, for example through the PREZODE initiative, designed to improve the fight against the emergence of new diseases as part of a “One Health” approach.