Cambodia has made substantial progress in improving child survival and reducing undernutrition over the past two decades. However, malnutrition remains a significant public health and development challenge. Child wasting continues to affect approximately one in ten children under five, while maternal malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, poor-quality diets and rising overweight and obesity continue to affect women and children across the life course. These challenges are compounded by inequities in access to quality nutrition services, limitations in routine nutrition information systems, health workforce capacity constraints and the need for stronger domestic financing and multisectoral coordination.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has placed nutrition at the centre of its human capital development agenda through the Fast Track Roadmap for Improving Nutrition (FTRIN) 2023–2030, the National Strategy for Food Security and Nutrition, and broader health and social protection reforms. UNICEF works closely with the Ministry of Health, the National Nutrition Programme (NNP), the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the National Social Protection Council and development partners to strengthen national nutrition systems and accelerate progress towards national and global nutrition targets.

In 2026, Cambodia enters an important new phase with implementation of the Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) Multi-Year Partnership Framework (2026–2030), a USD 13 million investment matched by the Government to reduce child wasting and strengthen national nutrition systems. The CNF is designed as a national systems strengthening platform rather than a stand-alone project, supporting expansion of Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM), scale-up of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) within antenatal care, strengthening of community-based early identification and referral systems, improvements in nutrition information systems, workforce performance, quality improvement, supply systems and programme governance.