Border Crisis in Cambodia Highlights Urgent Child Nutrition Needs
Responding to a humanitarian emergency while strengthening systems, empowering families to tackle child malnutrition
Across Cambodia, undernutrition continues to threaten children’s survival and development.
Malnutrition rates among children under 5 are some of the highest in the region: 22 percent of children have stunted growth, while 10 percent have moderate to severe wasting. Families often struggle to access the knowledge, services, and nutritious foods needed to help children thrive.
In 2024, UNICEF and other partners in the Child Nutrition Fund, working alongside the Ministry of Health, made significant gains to scale up effective, community-based nutrition interventions and reinforce the health system’s ability to identify and treat the most vulnerable.
A major focus: empowering parents and frontline health and nutrition workers to identify children with moderate or severe malnutrition using color-coded tapes for measuring a child's middle-upper arm circumference (MUAC).
This low-tech, family-friendly approach enables parents to spot malnutrition at home and seek help quickly. The technique was expanded to 1,095 villages across three high-need provinces last year.
With support from local partners, 2,190 Village Health Support Group members were also trained. As a result, nearly 20,000 children were assessed and more than 500 children referred for treatment.
UNICEF and partners also scaled up infant and young child feeding counseling programs. Over 248,000 caregivers of children under 2 received IYCF counseling through facility visits and community outreach — reinforcing best practices during the critical first 1,000 days of life.
Growth monitoring was integrated into routine health services, and frontline workers were trained in using the data to detect early signs of undernutrition and ensure timely referrals. To strengthen service quality, health center staff at 132 facilities were trained in severe case management and data reporting.
Through these efforts, 324,000 children under 5 were screened, and 10,500 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) were diagnosed and treated in health facilities.
Through the Child Nutrition Fund's match window, where government spending on essential nutrition supplies is matched with CNF partner contributions, Cambodia was able to secure a sufficient supply of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to treat more than 11,000 children suffering from SAM.
These efforts toward building a stronger, more sustainable system of care in Cambodia are ongoing, and critical for protecting children from life-long consequences of undernutrition — not only in times of stability, but also in moments of crisis.
Learn more: How UNICEF Fights Child Hunger
Displacement, service disruptions in five provinces intensify humanitarian needs
In mid-2025, conflict along the Cambodia–Thailand border forced families to flee their homes and forced schools and health centers to close. Many families remain displaced in overcrowded conditions. The return of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians from Thailand has further strained already fragile systems.
Related: The Best Way to Provide Direct Relief in Emergencies: Support UNICEF
UNICEF's swift emergency response
UNICEF's emergency response included providing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services and supplies, learning support for out-of-school children and child protection. UNICEF continues to assist families as they return home to damaged houses, lost crops and mission livestock, and limited access to essential services — including nutrition.
As recovery progresses, UNICEF and partners are working to sustain the full range of nutrition services, but more donor support is needed to ensure that no child is left behind.
Help UNICEF reach more children in need in Cambodia and around the world.
Portions of this story were adapted from an article posted to ChildNutritionFund.org
Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
