The Ambassador visited the Takeo Eye Hospital, which is one of two specialised hospitals in Cambodia (the other in Siem Reap province) in the field of ophthalmology. The hospital was supported by a project implemented by Caritas Czech Republic in cooperation with Caritas Cambodia in 2015-2017. The project entitled Support and Development of Ophthalmology in Rural Areas of Takeo Province, Cambodia for years with a total budget of 246 741 USD. The project was aimed at increasing the professional capacity of medical staff as well as providing ophthalmology services to the rural population in Takeo province. The project has been running since 2015, during which time more than 14 500 patients, mostly from remote areas of the province, have been provided with specialist health care. Surgeries were performed under the project, these were mainly cataract surgeries. In addition, volunteers from village support groups in eight districts were trained, as well as health centre staff who, together with volunteers and a team from Takeo Eye Hospital, conducted regular screening in the villages. The main priorities are prevention, awareness and early detection of patients with eye defects. The project received recognition from the Cambodian government in the form of the Order of Chivalry.

The delegation from the Czech Embassy received a warm welcome and the hospital director, Mr. Serey Bonn, arranged a tour around the hospital. Due to its specialization, the hospital has a high attendance rate and, thanks to the efforts of its director and the support of its foreign partners, also high professionalism and modern equipment. In the future, the hospital would like to work with remote communities, given that poor rural residents do not have the financial means to be transported to the hospital or are prevented from doing so by other circumstances such as childcare or agriculture. Thus, the hospital would like to create a mobile team that would have outreach to all communes within Takeo province, as well as the ability to possibly transport poor residents to the hospital and provide them with the opportunity to undergo surgery and hospitalization in the hospital. This proposal has also been put forward as an option for further support from Czech development cooperation.

A visit was then made to the Referral Hospital Takeo, built and operated by Czechoslovakia in the early 1980s and staffed by Czechoslovak doctors and biologists. This hospital used to bear the name of Czechoslovak friendship. Currently, there is a sign on the reconstructed building informing about the support of the Czech government, as well as information on other buildings about the support of other donors (FR, USA). However, according to management information, the hospital is not currently working with any other foreign partner.