Dermatology in Cambodia. Sustainable establishment of a medical discipline

After almost 25 years of dictatorship and civil war, in the mid1990s, Cambodia was in dire need of improvement of its medical infrastructure on all levels. Attention had already been focused on establishing primary care services such as emergency surgery, paediatrics and gynaecology/obstetrics; however dermatovenereology services had so far not been addressed. Using a comprehensive approach aiming at sustainable development, German, French and Cambodian institutions worked together to identify four core areas in need of improvement: postgraduate training, development of skin clinics, quality management, and integration of dermatology services into the health insurance scheme. Since 2005, this "Masterplan Dermatology" was financially supported by the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) based in Frankfurt am Main and Else Kroner Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) based in Bad Homburg auf der Hohe. Significant improvements have been made due to the efforts of the above institutions with the support of the donors; however challenges of this complex endeavor still remain.