Cambodia: Trust Me I’m Not a Doctor

The Cambodian government has recently announced a clampdown on unlicensed doctors. This comes after a mass infection of HIV in a rural village, blamed on an unlicensed doctor reusing syringes. The 'doctor', recently convicted of homicide and the deliberate spread of HIV/Aids, has just begun a 25 year prison sentence.

For millions of people, self-taught, unlicensed doctors are often their cheapest - and only option if they fall ill. Cambodia has one of the world’s lowest numbers of doctors per head of population, on a par with Afghanistan. John Murphy travels outside the capital Phnom Penh to see whether the government clampdown is having an effect. He finds evidence that self-taught doctors are still operating in villages, without hindrance and with plenty of local support.

(Photo: Mr Chin, a local doctor and his wife on his motorcycle to visit patients in their homes)