Biography

Dr. Sok Thim's mission is to cure tuberculosis (TB) and effectively treat AIDS among the world's poorest populations. He believes it is a fundamental human right to receive medicine for curable or treatable diseases. Local Hero Dr. Sok Thim is co-founder and Executive Director of the Cambodian Health Committee (CHC), but the road he traveled to get here was incredibly challenging. In 1973, Sok’s medical education at the University of Phnom Penh was cut short when the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, and "relocated" him to a labor camp where he would reside for the next four years. Nearly everyone in his camp sector died from the harsh conditions but Sok decided to attempt an escape, figuring it was his only chance to live. He successfully evaded capture as he made his way to Thailand, hiding in swamps by day and traveling by foot at night. Sok lived in a refugee camp in Thailand from 1982 to 1991 where life was hard, but he was able to train under an American Red Cross nurse and participate in a two-year TB Fellowship Program. Eventually taking charge of the American Red Cross TB Program in one of the refugee camps, Sok became the TB Advisor for the United Nations Border Relief Operations in 1989, responsible for the TB program in the refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border. 

In 1994, he repatriated back to Cambodia where he co-founded Cambodia Health Committee (CHC). He also returned to medical school in Phnom Phen where he received his medical degree in 2006.  As a leading expert in the field of communicable disease in Cambodia, Sok was named a Hero of Global Health by Time Magazine. He and his team at CHC have had a remarkable impact on the lives thousands of Cambodian children and have an exceptional cure rate.