Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation visit Exceed in Cambodia

Jane Bateman, Trustee of the Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation, has unveiled a memorial to mark the life and work of its founder Sir Bobby Charlton.

Sir Bobby was much-loved and admired as a footballer and humanitarian. The commemorative plaque was revealed at a ceremony at Exceed Worldwide’s Cambodia headquarters in Phnom Penh. The special event took place on 15th May 2024, attended by Ms Bateman, HM British Ambassador Dominic Williams, guests and Exceed Worldwide staff, including Chief Executive Carson Harte and Cambodia Country Director, Sisary Kheng.

After unveiling the memorial, Ms. Bateman said, ‘Cambodia had a special place in Sir Bobby’s heart. It is wonderful to see that his commitment to this country has been recognised with this permanent tribute. Our thanks go to Exceed Worldwide for helping us to continue his legacy of supporting victims of conflict”.

The Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation has supported Exceed since 2019. Their funding trained Prosthetic and Orthotic Technicians (POTs) and the provision of prostheses (artificial limbs) and orthoses (braces) to disadvantaged people.

Support from the Foundation provided POT scholarships for 30 students from 11 countries. POTs support Prosthetist Orthotists (POs) by manufacturing prostheses and orthoses, allowing POs to treat many more patients. POTs manufacture 500 devices per year and the work of these technicians brings mobility to hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities.

On behalf of Exceed Worldwide, Sisary Kheng, said, ‘We are delighted that Jane could join us today. Exceed has enormous regard for the Sir Bobby Foundation. Its support helps us to restore mobility to people with a disability and provide opportunities to access education, training and employment. This memorial will forever remind Exceed staff and visitors of our appreciation of Sir Bobby and the Foundation.’

In 2023-24, support from the Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation enabled Exceed to supply over 800 prosthetic and orthotic devices to men, women and children in two, mainly rural areas of Cambodia. This programme, along with the POT training initiative, has made a major contribution to Exceed’s aim to equip, enable and empower people with disabilities.

Launch of the Australia-Cambodia Cooperation for Equitable Sustainable Services - Phase 2 (ACCESS 2)

Exceed has taken part in the launch event for Australia-Cambodia Cooperation for Equitable Sustainable Services - Phase 2 (ACCESS 2) along with representatives of Australian Aid and the Cambodian government.

H.E Justin Kevin Whyatt, Former Australian ambassador to Cambodia; H.E Chea Somethy, Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation; H.E Chheang Ra Minister of Health; H.E. Ing Kanthaphavi Ministry of Women’s Affairs

Mr. CHOU Vivath Disability and Rehabilitation Lead Deputy Team Leader ACCESS 2; Ms. BOU Makara Gender-Based Violence Lead ACCESS 2; Ms. Sophia CASON Team Leader ACCESS 2; Ms. Audrey Harte Operations Manager Exceed Worldwide; Ms. NGUON Sovanimol P&O Team Leader Exceed Clinic in NPH Exceed Worldwide; Ms. Sisary Kheng Country Director Exceed Worldwide; H.E. Ing Kanthaphavi Ministry of Women’s Affairs; Ms. Suon Samphors Accountant Exceed Worldwide; Assisstant of H.E. Ing Kanthaphavi; Assisstant of H.E. Ing Kanthaphavi; Mr. Heang Thearith Project Director Exceed Worldwide; Mr. Sasha CIGLJAREVIC Deputy Team Leader ACCESS 2

Ms. Audrey Harte Operations Manager Exceed Worldwide; Ms. SUON Samphors Accountant Exceed Worldwide; Ms. MET Sophary Exceed Clinic Manager in NPH Exceed Worldwide

Mr. Marc Zlot Regional Manager from ICRC; Ms. MET Sophary Exceed Clinic Manager in NPH Exceed Worldwide

Ms. SUON Samphors Accountant Exceed Worldwide; Ms. MET Sophary Exceed Clinic Manager in NPH Exceed Worldwide


Exceed's ISO 9001 renewed after in-person audit

Exceed Worldwide has been certified with ISO 9001 for its Quality Management System since 2002. We were the the very first not-for-profit organisation in the field of prosthetics and orthotics to receive such an international accreditation.

ISO Auditor Tang Ping Ping

Exceed's Country Director for Cambodia, Sisary Kheng, said: "This accreditation inspires Exceed to continually improve performance, meet customer expectations, managing risks systematically, and allow participatory decision making process. That is a mutual beneficial arrangement for both the project management and operation staff to consistently employ localization, and locally-led development concepts in the principle of an ongoing optimization of long-term success, enhancement of customer confidence, process improvements, effective problem-solving.

This achievement of this continuous accreditation demonstrates the commitment of the whole organisation toward quality of services and education to all of our customers both internally and externally, including people with disabilities whom we service."

Phearsa Tor, Head of Student Teaching, added: "ISO9001 has been integrated into our management system since 2002. One of the main objectives for having the ISO9001 into our system is to ensure that our physical rehabilitation service provision and prosthetist/Orthotist training meet the international quality standards. To comply with this quality standards, we have to develop policies, work instructions, forms, which we use those to confirm the quality of our products.

As a qualified lead auditor I have been involved in audit activities both internally and externally for almost 10 years. I could see that the ISO9001 standards that Exceed have applied play as an important role in maintain and improving of quality of our products to meet the need of our customers."





A New Voice for Prosthetics and Orthotics

A new ‘Prosthetic and Orthotic Network’ has been launched.

Designed to act as a strong voice for the Prosthetic and Orthotic (P&O) sector, it was founded by P&O educators and service providers at an international

workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2023.

The Prosthetic and Orthotic Network works to promote P&O education and services and lobby for the development and professional recognition of the sector within countries and across international boundaries. The founding members of the Network come from 6 P&O schools supported by The Nippon Foundation in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and The Philippines and will develop from this base.

Speaking for the Prosthetic and Orthotic Network, Sisary Kheng from Exceed Worldwide, said, ‘We are working with colleagues and organisations in the P&O sector to complete our Phnom Penh Declaration. This calls upon international agencies, Governments and others to recognise that well-resourced P&O education and services are essential, to transform the lives of persons with disability and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.’

The Phnom Penh Declaration also calls for all countries to fully-integrate the P&O profession and sector in their health sectors, make it easy for P&O professionals

to work internationally and facilitate the duty-free movement P&O components and materials.

Speaking for The Nippon Foundation, Yoshio Nakagawa said, ‘90% of those who need P&O support do not have access to services. The Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved unless persons with disability are included. The obvious conclusion is that all countries need a thriving P&O sector. As a long-term supporter of the sector, The Nippon Foundation is pleased to support the aims of the Prosthetic and Orthotic Network.’

The formation of The Prosthetic and Orthotic Network is timely, as its work complements and supports a rehabilitation resolution adopted by 194 Members States at the 2023 World Health Assembly.

This resolution recognises the large global need for rehabilitation and the significant gap in service availability, especially in low- and middle-income countries. It states that rehabilitation should be available to entire populations and should be integrated into health planning and implementation, as it is an important enabler for quality of life and community participation. Most importantly, the resolution calls for key actions to be taken to strengthen rehabilitation in health systems.

To enquire about membership of The Prosthetic and Orthotic Network please contact Sisary Kheng – sisary@exceed-worldwide.org.

Landmark resolution on strengthening rehabilitation in health systems

A landmark resolution on “Strengthening rehabilitation in health systems” was adopted by 194 Members States at the 2023 World Health Assembly (WHA).

The resolution recognises the large global need for rehabilitation and the significant gap in service availability, especially in low- and middle-income countries. There was an overwhelming emphasis that rehabilitation should be available to entire populations, should be integrated into health planning and implementation and recognition that ehabilitation is an important enabler for quality of life and participation in the community.

The Assembly recognised that successful implementation of its resolution is critical to ensure the enjoyment of human rights - including the best possible physical and mental health - and highlighted a number of key issues:

 - the urgent need to address the lack of an adequate rehabilitation workforce
 - common challenges faced in accessing affordable, quality and appropriate rehabilitation services, particularly for marginalized and vulnerable populations
 - the importance of raising awareness of rehabilitation among policy- and decision-makers when setting health priorities
 - the need to better equip countries in responding to rehabilitation needs, including assistive technology, in the context of health emergencies.

Several innovative approaches and specific recommendations were proposed by Member States. These included an approach by Namibia to provide financial incentives for people taking up studies in the rehabilitation field, to address the crucial issue of workforce limitations and the development of quantitative indicators, as noted by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The WHA resolution calls for key actions to be taken by Member States, international organizations and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen rehabilitation in health systems and the WHO Secretariat will report on their progress in implementing this resolution to the World Health Assembly in 2026, 2028 and 2030.