You all are playing an important role in promoting land reform and the sustainable management and protection of Cambodia’s environment.  It is only through our combined and coordinated efforts that we can ensure a better future for millions of Cambodians. 

Of the many challenges we face as a global community – and there are many – health crises constitute among the most serious.  Today, the headlines tell us of the toll that Ebola has taken in West Africa.  Not long ago the world faced repeated outbreaks of SARS, multiple influenzas, not to mention the continued threat posed by HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, dengue, measles – I could go on. But I won’t.  What I do want to point out is that our single greatest defense against these threats is our health workers.  These men and women fight on the front lines every day at great risk to themselves to protect us.  Helping them to become a coordinated, disciplined, qualified, and effective fighting force is what this gathering is all about.