El Niño-induced Drought in Cambodia: Rapid assessment report

Cambodia is a country prone to floods and droughts, but 2016 has proven to be the hottest year on record. The ongoing 2015 – 2016 El Niño event is causing severe drought in much of the country. The Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has called this drought the worst natural disaster to hit Cambodia in 100 years. The government has declared that 18 of Cambodia’s 25 provinces have been severely affected by drought, impacting 2.5 million people, an estimated 950,000 of whom are children. In parallel, El Niño’s sister weather event, La Niña, is expected to bring flooding to much of the land which is currently afflicted by drought by August.

The most vulnerable households are always the hardest hit during disaster, and this includes children. Due to the drought, Health Centres have reported increases in cases of illnesses to which children are particularly vulnerable – diarrhea, fever, and upper respiratory infections. Children spend a large part of their days at school, and the conditions in these schools pose a major threat to their health and wellbeing, due to the heat and lack of water, which can have an effect on children’s ability to participate. The drought has been particularly harsh on the livelihoods and assets of the poorest of the poor. These households have sold assets, livestock, and taken loans to dig for water, to pump water or to buy water containers and water. Some families have not been able to sustain their livelihood because of the drought – farming and fishing are both affected.  Children are also being left behind in the care of relatives while their parents migrate for work. 

Save the Children is responding to this ongoing drought by launching an emergency response shaped by the results of this initial survey.