The main direct causes of child illness and death are diarrhoea! diseases, acute respiratory
infections and vaccine preventable diseases, particularly measles, which are together estimated to be responsible for over half of all child deaths. Severe malnutrition compounds the effects of these illnesses and results in the heavy death toll.

The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the World Bank and numerous other agencies have responded to the challenge by developing the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy.

Three main types of interventions were explored: two alternative interventions for improving the quality of health services, three interventions that improve access to services by the poor, and twelve that target health problems that burden the poor relatively more.

Total and marginal unit costs per capita were estimated by reviewing existing studies of interventions in Cambodia and in other countries with similar health and socioeconomic environments.  Where it was relevant, previous efforts to cost interventions and programs were reviewed in detail and some data extrapolated from these.