As outward migration in Cambodia continues to increase, its impact on the children and families of migrant workers inclusive of health, remains largely unknown. Concerns centre on how separation from parents may affect childrens’ nutritional, behavioral and psychological development and if furthermore the trends in migration have linkages to the increased placement of children in Residential Care Institutions (RCI) settings.
In this regard a two phase project is proposed that aims to research the issue of left behind children and families in Cambodia. The first phase will focus on piloting and capacity building activities, whilst phase two will consist of a) community-based cross-sectional household survey among left-behind migrant worker families and; b) qualitative study components to explore left-behind migrant children in child care institutions inclusive of children’s perception of parental migration, child health status and parenting issues of migrant family households. The final outcome of the project will be to present the findings and recommendations via a country report to the Royal Government of Cambodia and Civil Society in Cambodia to assist with culturally appropriate interventions and national policy development.