Urgent appeal: Supporting Cambodian families displaced by the Thailand-Cambodia conflict

Supporting health and dignity for displaced communities in northwest Cambodia

Since 7 December, renewed fighting along the Cambodia–Thailand border has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes in northwest Cambodia.

On Thursday 18 December, further airstrikes were reported in Banteay Meanchey province, directly affecting areas where Health Poverty Action is working. As a result, more families have been displaced, and the number of people seeking refuge in already overstretched locations continues to rise.

Health Poverty Action is launching an emergency appeal to support displaced families and prevent a further deterioration in health conditions.

Donate to support Cambodian families displaced by the Thailand-Cambodia conflict

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Where we are responding

Health Poverty Action is currently responding in Takong commune, Malai district, where more than 6,000 people were already sheltering before the latest escalation. Humanitarian support reaching this area has been limited compared to other affected locations, leaving significant gaps in essential supplies.

Conditions remain extremely basic. Displaced families have limited access to:

  • Food and clean drinking water
    Sanitation and hygiene facilities
    Essential healthcare and medicines

Children make up a significant proportion of those displaced, including infants who require safe nutrition and urgent medical attention.

Children at risk: urgent health needs

Doctors from the Hepatitis Elimination Alliance (HEA), a Cambodian civil society organisation supported by HPA, are providing frontline medical care in the area. They report that following the most recent airstrikes:

“More families are arriving with almost nothing. We are seeing many young children and infants who have not yet been weaned, but there is no access to infant formula.”

In the displacement sites:

  • Infants and young children urgently need safe nutrition, including infant formula
  • Families lack basic food supplies and essential medicines
  • Camps are located close to water sources, increasing the risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue
  • Unsafe water and poor sanitation heighten the risk of water-borne illness, especially in hot weather

Without timely support, preventable illness among children is likely to increase rapidly.

£20 could provide 5 warm blankets to protect people from the cold conditions at night

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Our response

In response to the escalating situation, Health Poverty Action has expanded its emergency support and is:

  • Supporting frontline doctors and seven local clinics to deliver urgent medical care, particularly for children
  • Working with local partners to increase access to safe drinking water
  • Coordinating with health workers and authorities to identify and respond to priority needs, including essential medicines, hygiene supplies and mosquito nets

Access constraints continue to limit assistance reaching this area, making flexible and timely funding critical.

How your support helps

Your support will help Health Poverty Action respond swiftly to urgent needs:

  • £5 could buy 96 bottles of water for people in need
  • £10 could provide 20 kg of rice to support families with basic food needs
  • £20 could provide five warm blankets to protect people at night
  • £50 could pay for one water filter bucket, enabling safe access to drinking water
  • £100 could provide temporary shelter for approximately 50 people using tarpaulin tents

Stand in solidarity

Health Poverty Action responds to crisis through solidarity, not charity, working alongside local health professionals and communities to protect health and dignity in the most difficult circumstances.

As displacement continues to rise, your support can help prevent further harm and ensure families receive the care they urgently need.

Please give what you can today.

Please give whatever you can and help families stay safe and healthy at this critical time

Donate now