A generous heart has gone: Tribute to Doctor Michel Sebban, a pillar of medicine in Phnom Penh

Cambodia mourns the death of a man with a big heart, Dr Michel Sebban, a French general practitioner, gynaecologist and acupuncturist, who had chosen Phnom Penh as his home and place of devotion since 2011.

Docteur Michel Sebban

A man of science and humanity, he devoted more than a decade to caring not only for the families of Western expatriates but also for the most disadvantaged Cambodians, taking an active part in several international programmes aimed at facilitating access to healthcare for vulnerable populations.

Based at the ‘Cabinet Médical Français’ in the heart of Phnom Penh, Dr Sebban was renowned for his professionalism, attentive listening and unfailing commitment to three key specialities: gynaecology, acupuncture and homeopathy.

He had also established himself as a medical reference for foreign consulates, particularly those in Switzerland and Germany, a symbol of his trust and medical rigour.

His exemplary career, marked by prestigious training in France at the Tours, Paris Salpêtrière and Ambroise Paré faculties, took root in the Cambodian capital, where he worked with other renowned doctors in European care centres such as the Advance European Medicare Center, the result of a merger between the Cabinet Médical Français that he ran and the famous Naga Clinic.

Above and beyond his medical skills, Dr Sebban was a man of great generosity, appreciated for his humanity, his reassuring calm, and the quality of the relationships he forged with his patients.

His practice welcomed both Western and Cambodian patients, bringing a ray of hope to those facing illness in an environment with limited resources.

His departure leaves a huge void in the medical community of Phnom Penh and among all the families he treated.

In Cambodia, the name of Dr Michel Sebban will long remain synonymous with compassion, medical excellence and humanitarian commitment. May his soul rest in peace, and may his example continue to inspire the medical profession in this country he so dearly loved.