FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friends Without A Border Celebrates 10th Anniversary and
Breaks Ground for Second Pediatric Hospital

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (January 16, 2009) – Friends Without A Border (Friends) announces the 10th anniversary celebration of Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) built by Friends Without A Border in Siem Reap, Cambodia. After ten years of growth and development at the hospital in Siem Reap, Friends Without A Border is proud to also announce the groundbreaking ceremony for the its second hospital to be built at Sotr Nikum Referral Hospital. Both events will take place on Sunday, February 22, 2009 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

During a series of photography trips to Cambodia’s Angkor monuments, noted photographer Kenro Izu was forever changed by his encounters with ill, malnourished and disfigured children in desperate need of medical care. Izu founded Friends Without A Border (Friends), a U.S. registered foundation in 1996 and dedicated himself to building a pediatric hospital in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) was completed in 1999.

Throughout the past ten years, Friends Without A Border has been a remarkable force for good; to date, over 625,000 children have received quality medical care at AHC and the staff has grown to 210, including 25 doctors and 89 nurses, 98% of whom are Cambodians. It is the largest pediatric HIV treatment facility outside Phnom Penh. Formally recognized by the Ministry of Health as an official teaching hospital, AHC’s Medical Education Center has trained approximately 2,500 healthcare workers throughout the country. The Capacity Building and Health Education Program works directly with Cambodian communities teaching about basic healthcare and best family practices to reduce the incidence of preventable diseases.

AHC is beginning to transform Cambodia’s healthcare by establishing a Satellite Pediatric Center twenty miles from AHC in Sotnikum Province where many of AHC’s current patients live. The Center will be constructed on land owned by the government-operated Sotnikum Referral Hospital where AHC will replicate its quality care reducing the morbitiy and mortality of delayed treatment, saving time, resources and precious lives.

With the new Center serving a population of over 300,000, it is conceivable that this project may be the start of a dramatic improvement in the health care available to Cambodians.

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For more information on Friends Without A Border, Angkor Hospital for Children and the new Satellite project, as well as the Celebration events, please contact: Ms. Akiko Arai | akiko@fwab.org | phone (212) 691 0909 | www.fwab.org