Since 2017, the Pediatric Surgery Project (PSP) has worked closely with the Kratie Provincial Referral Hospital (KPRH) to ensure that children have access to surgical care. Despite this effort, many families in remote villages in Kratie province have difficulty recognizing urgent surgical symptoms. This lack of awareness often leads to delays in seeking medical care, which results in children arriving at the hospital with severe conditions.

To address this gap, our team launched the Echo-Training program in 2024. The program operates through a simple two-step process: surgeons at KPRH train staff at Health Center (HC), then staff at HC train members of Village Health Support Groups (VHSG) at each community.

By empowering VHSG members who live within communities, we ensure that they can identify surgical symptoms early and guide families to seek timely medical treatment.

Clear communication is key to the success of the program. Because VHSG members are not medical professionals, the PSP team and KPRH surgeons worked together to translate complex medical terms into simple, practical lessons. We developed “Information, Education, and Communication (IEC)” materials, including slide presentations and laminated posters, specialized for the session aim. These materials feature clinical photos of pediatric symptoms accompanied by simple Khmer text.

Using these materials, “Echo-Training” was introduced at health centers. In 2024, PSP team launched its first sessions at Domrey Phong HC. The sessions were led by Dr. Keng Mab, a senior surgeon and Vice Director at KPRH.

The impact was immediate. Mr. Mean Bunna, Head of the Domrey Phong HC, expressed his gratitude: "I am so happy to have a KPRH doctor support me and train our VHSG."

During these sessions, several VHSG members realized that they had previously encountered children with these symptoms but did not know how to help them. Some had thought that surgical care was only available in urban cities like Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. They came to understand that surgical medical care is available right here in Kratie.

Mr. Mean Bunna provided training to VHSG members with support from Dr. Keng Mab, a surgeon from KPRH.

VHSG members have shown strong commitment for implementing the Echo-Training. Many travels over 40 kilometers on muddy, flooded roads during the rainy season to attend the training.

Mr. Chen Bros, a VHSG from the Rolus HC area, shared his motivation: "Even if the road is difficult, I want this knowledge. Now, when I see a sick child in my village, I can confidently tell their parents to go to a HC or a hospital immediately."

Mr. Chen Bros shared his excitement and explained some surgical symptoms to the other VHSG members.