Threats to Health
-
Conflict and health, including violations of humanitarian and human rights standards as threats to health
These include violations of economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Bitter Wounds and Lost Dreams: Human Rights Under Assault in Karen State, Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 27 August 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Findings:
"Out of all 665 households surveyed, 30% reported a human rights violation. Forced labor was
the most common human rights violation reported; 25% of households reported experiencing
some form of forced labor in the past year, including being porters for the military, growing
crops, and sweeping for landmines. Physical attacks were less common; about 1.3% of households
reported kidnapping, torture, or sexual assault.
Human rights violations were significantly worse in the area surveyed in Tavoy, Tenasserim
Division, which is completely controlled by the Burmese government and is also the site of the
Dawei port and economic development project. Our research shows that more people who lived
in Tavoy experienced human rights violations than people who lived elsewhere in our sampling
area. Specifically, the odds of having a family member forced to be a porter were 4.4 times
higher than for families living elsewhere. The same odds for having to do other forms of forced
labor, including building roads and bridges, were 7.9 times higher; for being blocked from accessing
land, 6.2 times higher; and for restricted movement, 7.4 times higher for families in
Tavoy than for families living elsewhere. The research indicates a correlation between development
projects and human rights violations, especially those relating to land and displacement.
PHR’s research indicated that 17.4% of households in Karen State reported moderate or severe
household hunger, according to the FANTA-2 Household Hunger Scale, a measure of food insecurity.
We found that 3.7% of children under 5 were moderately or severely malnourished, and
9.8% were mildly malnourished, as determined by measurements of middle-upper arm circumference.
PHR conducted the survey immediately following the rice harvest in Karen State, and
the results may therefore reflect the lowest malnutrition rates of the year.....Conclusion:
PHR’s survey of human rights violations and humanitarian indicators in Karen State shows that
human rights violations persist in Karen State, despite recent reforms on the part of President
Thein Sein. Of particular concern is the prevalence of human rights violations even in areas
where there is no active armed conflict, as well as the correlation between economic development
projects and human rights violations. Our research found that human rights violations
were up to 10 times higher around an economic development project than in other areas surveyed.
Systemic reforms that establish accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations,
full political participation by Karen people and other ethnic minorities, and access to essential
services are necessary to support a successful transition to a fully functioning democracy..." |
| Author/creator: | | Bill Davis ,MA, MPH; Andrea Gittleman, JD, PHR; Richard Sollom, MA, MPH, PHR; Adam Richards, MD, MPH; Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH; Forword by Óscar Arias Sánchez |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (749K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Thaton Interview: Daw Ny---, April 2011 |
| Date of publication: | | 27 January 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report contains the full transcript of an interview conducted during April 2011 in Pa’an Township, Thaton District by a villager trained by KHRG to monitor human rights conditions. The villager interviewed Daw Ny---, who described an incident which occurred in November 2010, during which Tatmadaw Border Guard soldiers fired small-arms at her husband without warning and without attempting to hail him, seriously injuring his leg and necessitating 3,800,000 kyat [US $4,935.06] in medical expenses, which has had a deleterious effect on her family’s financial situation. Daw Ny--- told the villager who conducted this interview that her husband was visited in hospital by government officials investigating the incident but that no compensation or redress was offered. Daw Ny--- also described arbitrary demands for food and money, and the illegal logging of teak trees from A--- village by Border Guard soldiers; she mentioned that the imbalance in local power dynamics between armed soldiers and unarmed villagers deters villagers from attempting to engage and negotiate with perpetrators. Daw Ny--- raised concerns about the lack of livelihoods opportunities, and corresponding food insecurity, for villagers who do not own farmland; she notes that, in spite of these challenges, villagers offer voluntary material support to schoolteachers and often attempt to support their livelihoods by selling firewood or cutting bamboo. Daw Ny--- notes that some villagers choose to seek employment opportunities in larger towns but strongly expresses her unwillingness to move to an urban area, believing that food insecurity would only be exacerbated by a lack of money and an absence of alternative livelihood opportunities." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (267K), html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.khrg.org/khrg2012/khrg12b8.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 January 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Attacks on Health and Education: Trends and incidents from eastern Burma, 2010-2011 |
| Date of publication: | | 06 December 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report presents primary evidence of attacks on education and health in eastern Burma collected by KHRG during the period February 2010 to May 2011. Section I of this report details KHRG research methodology; Section II analyses general trends in armed conflict and details a loose typology of attacks identified during the reporting period. Section III applies this typology to 16 particularly illustrative incidents, and analyses them in light of relevant international humanitarian law and UN Security Council resolutions 1612, 1882 and 1998. These incidents were selected from a database detailing 59 attacks on civilians documented by KHRG between February 2010 and May 2011." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | html. pdf (166K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.khrg.org/khrg2011/khrg1105.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 January 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Definitional ambiguity and UNSCR 1998: Impeding UN-led responses to attacks on health and education in eastern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 06 December 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "This paper highlights impediments to effective international responses to attacks on health and education
in eastern Burma presented by lack of clarity regarding the meaning of “attacks” within the monitoring and
reporting framework established by UN Security Council resolutions 1612 and 1998. In order to address
this definitional ambiguity and enable recent developments in the UN Security Council to potentially
provide support to communities facing attacks in eastern Burma, this paper argues for interpreting
“attacks” in a fashion that is consistent with applicable international humanitarian law. The analysis below
concludes that UN-led monitoring, reporting and response pursuant to UNSCRs 1612 and 1998 should
include acts by parties to armed conflict that both: a) violate relevant international law; and b) attack or
threaten to attack personnel related to schools or medical facilities and/ or destroy, damage or force the
closure of a school or medical facility." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (62K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 January 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Diagnosis: Critical – Health And Human Rights in Eastern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 19 October 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: "This report reveals that the health of populations in conflict-affected areas of eastern Burma, particularly women and children, is amongst the worst in the world, a result of official disinvestment in health, protracted conflict and the abuse of civilians..."Diagnosis: Critical" demonstrates that a vast area of
eastern Burma remains in a chronic health
emergency, a continuing legacy of longstanding
official disinvestment in health, coupled with
protracted civil war and the abuse of civilians. This
has left ethnic rural populations in the east with
41.2% of children under five acutely malnourished.
60.0% of deaths in children under the age of 5 are
from preventable and treatable diseases, including
acute respiratory infection, malaria, and diarrhea.
These losses of life would be even greater if it were
not for local community-based health organizations,
which provide the only available preventive and
curative care in these conflict-affected areas.
The report summarizes the results of a large scale
population-based health and human rights survey
which covered 21 townships and 5,754 households
in conflict-affected zones of eastern Burma. The
survey was jointly conducted by the Burma Medical
Association, National Health and Education
Committee, Back Pack Health Worker Team and
ethnic health organizations serving the Karen,
Karenni, Mon, Shan, and Palaung communities.
These areas have been burdened by decades of civil
conflict and attendant human rights abuses against
the indigenous populations.
Eastern Burma demographics are characterized by
high birth rates, high death rates and the significant
absence of men under the age of 45, patterns more
comparable to recent war zones such as Sierra
Leone than to Burma’s national demographics.
Health indicators for these communities, particularly
for women and children, are worse than Burma’s
official national figures, which are already amongst
the worst in the world. Child mortality rates are
nearly twice as high in eastern Burma and the
maternal mortality ratio is triple the official national
figure.
While violence is endemic in these conflict zones,
direct losses of life from violence account for only
2.3% of deaths. The indirect health impacts of the
conflict are much graver, with preventable losses
of life accounting for 59.1% of all deaths and malaria
alone accounting for 24.7%. At the time of the
survey, one in 14 women was infected with Pf
malaria, amongst the highest rates of infection in
the world. This reality casts serious doubts over
official claims of progress towards reaching the
country’s Millennium Development Goals related to the health of women, children, and infectious
diseases, particularly malaria.
The survey findings also reveal widespread human
rights abuses against ethnic civilians. Among
surveyed households, 30.6% had experienced
human rights violations in the prior year, including
forced labor, forced displacement, and the
destruction and seizure of food. The frequency and
pattern with which these abuses occur against
indigenous peoples provide further evidence of the
need for a Commission of Inquiry into Crimes
against Humanity. The upcoming election will do
little to alleviate the situation, as the military forces
responsible for these abuses will continue to
operate outside civilian control according to the
new constitution.
The findings also indicate that these abuses are
linked to adverse population-level health outcomes,
particularly for the most vulnerable members of
the community—mothers and children. Survey
results reveal that members of households who
suffer from human rights violations have worse
health outcomes, as summarized in the table above.
Children in households that were internally
displaced in the prior year were 3.3 times more
likely to suffer from moderate or severe acute
malnutrition. The odds of dying before age one was
increased 2.5 times among infants from households
in which at least one person was forced to provide
labor.
The ongoing widespread human rights abuses
committed against ethnic civilians and the blockade
of international humanitarian access to rural
conflict-affected areas of eastern Burma by the
ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
mean that premature death and disability,
particularly as a result of treatable and preventable
diseases like malaria, diarrhea, and respiratory
infections, will continue.
This will not only further devastate the health of
communities of eastern Burma but also poses a
direct health security threat to Burma’s neighbors,
especially Thailand, where the highest rates of
malaria occur on the Burma border. Multi-drug
resistant malaria, extensively drug-resistant
tuberculosis and other infectious diseases are
growing concerns. The spread of malaria resistant
to artemisinin, the most important anti-malarial
drug, would be a regional and global disaster.
In the absence of state-supported health
infrastructure, local community-based organizations
are working to improve access to health services in
their own communities. These programs currently
have a target population of over 376,000 people in
eastern Burma and in 2009 treated nearly 40,000
cases of malaria and have vastly increased access
to key maternal and child health interventions.
However, they continue to be constrained by a lack
of resources and ongoing human rights abuses by
the Burmese military regime against civilians. In
order to fully address the urgent health needs of
eastern Burma, the underlying abuses fueling the
health crisis need to end." |
| Language: | | Burmese, English, Thai |
| Source/publisher: | | The Burma Medical Association, National Health and Education Committee, Back Pack Health Worker Team |
| Format/size: | | pdf (OBL versions: 5.3MB - English; 4.4MB Thai; 3.5MB-Burmese) . Larger, original versions on BPHWT site |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/Diagnosis_critical(th)-red.pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs11/Diagnosis_critical(bu)-red.pdf
http://www.backpackteam.org/?page_id=208 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 September 2011 |
|
| Title: | | MYANMAR: Health crisis amid conflict - new report |
| Date of publication: | | 19 October 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | A new report by NGOs indicates health conditions in conflict-affected eastern Myanmar are dire, with women and children suffering most.
According to "Diagnosis: Critical", a survey of 5,754 households by health organizations working in the Thai border town of Mae Sot and others from neighbouring Myanmar, health conditions in eastern Myanmar have deteriorated due to constant conflict and persistent state neglect. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | IRIN_ humanitarian news and analysis |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2008 - Chapter 11: Right to Health |
| Date of publication: | | 23 November 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "For the people of Burma, 2008 has been another difficult year. The difficulties related to lack
of healthcare facilities continued, while other factors relating to poverty remained key
influences on the health of the nation. The enduring story from Burma from 2008 was the
humanitarian consequences of Tropical Cyclone Nargis, which hit the country on 2-3 May
2008. However, even at the beginning of the year, there were worrying reports and statistics
emerging from Burma regarding the health status of the population.
In January 2008, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released figures which
showed Burma had the second highest child mortality rate in the world, with between 270
and 400 children dying on a daily basis, many from preventable causes. By year end, the
combination of the estimated 130,000 deaths due to Cyclone Nargis and the increasing
HIV/AIDS crisis lead Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to describe the current situation in
Burma as “critical”, and also contributed to Burma being included in MSF’s list of the ten
worse humanitarian situations in the world. While it has been estimated that approximately
half of Burma's annual budgetary allocation goes towards military expenditure, less than half
a percent of Burma’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is allocated to healthcare. Burma’s
per capita spending on healthcare has been reported to be "the lowest in the world". As a
direct result, deaths arising from easily preventable and readily treatable diseases are
common. Burma also has the second highest child mortality rate in all of Asia, with ten
percent of children dying before their fifth birthday; only Afghanistan’s child mortality rate is
higher.
While the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military regime makes little to no
effort to actively promote good health or to provide adequate healthcare, in some areas it
actively prevents the population’s access to healthcare through restrictions on movement
and other human rights abuses. For example, in August 2008, it was reported that medical
students were to be forced to take an exam on the current political situation in the country
before being allowed to take up medical placements in hospitals. Presumably, those
students who failed to toe the SPDC line would not have been permitted to commence their
placements. Although this was denied by the SPDC, it was confirmed by lecturers at
Rangoon’s Medical Institute..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (217K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 December 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Burma's Prisons and Labour Camps: Silent Killing Fields |
| Date of publication: | | 11 May 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "In October 2008, reports
emerged from Burma that the
military junta had ordered its
courts to expedite the trials of
political activists. Since then,
357 activists have been handed
down harsh punishments,
including sentences of up to 104
years. Shortly after sentencing,
the regime began to
systematically transfer political
prisoners to prisons all around
Burma, far from their families. This has a serious detrimental impact on both their
physical and mental health. Medical supplies in prisons are wholly inadequate, and often
only obtained through bribes to prison officials. It is left to the families to provide
medicines, but prison transfers make it very difficult for them to visit their loved ones in
jail. Prison transfers are also another form of psychological torture by the regime, aimed
at both the prisoners and their families. Since November 2008, at least 228 political
prisoners have been transferred to jails away from their families. The long-term
consequences for the health of political prisoners recently transferred will be very serious.
At least 127 political prisoners are currently in poor health. At least 19 of them are in
urgent need of proper medical treatment. Political prisonersâ' right to healthcare is
systematically denied by the regime. Burma's healthcare system in prisons is completely
inadequate, especially in jails in remote areas. There are 44 prisons across Burma, and at
least 50 labour camps. Some of them do not have a prison hospital, and at least 12 of the
prisons do not even have a prison doctor.
The regime's treatment of political prisoners directly contravenes the 1957 UN standard
minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners. The International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) carried out its last prison visit in Burma in November 2005. In January
2006 the ICRC suspended prison visits in the country, as it was not allowed to fulfil its
independent, impartial mandate.
Since 1988 at least 139 political prisoners have died in detention, as a direct result of
severe torture, denial of medical treatment, and inadequate medical care. Many, like Htay
Lwin Oo, were suffering from curable diseases such as tuberculosis. He died in
Mandalay Prison in December 2008. He had been due for release in December this year...
1. Political Prisoners In Poor Health
There are currently at least 127 political prisoners known to be in poor health..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (681K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 May 2009 |
|
| Title: | | After the Storm: Voices from the Delta |
| Date of publication: | | 27 February 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | An independent, community-based assessment of health and human
rights in the Cyclone Nargis response...DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:
"To date, this report is the only community-based independent assessment of the Nargis response
conducted by relief workers operating free of SPDC control. Using participatory methods and
operating without the knowledge or consent of the Burmese junta or its affiliated institutions, this
report brings forward the voices of those working “on the ground” and of survivors in the Cyclone
Nargis-affected areas of Burma.
The data reveal systematic obstruction of relief aid, willful acts of theft and sale of relief supplies,
forced relocation, and the use of forced labor for reconstruction projects, including forced child
labor. The slow distribution of aid, the push to hold the referendum vote, and the early refusal to
accept foreign assistance are evidence of the junta’s primary concerns for regime survival and
political control over the well-being of the Burmese people.
These EAT findings are evidence of multiple human rights violations and the abrogation of
international humanitarian relief norms and international legal frameworks for disaster relief. They
may constitute crimes against humanity, violating in particular article 7(1)(k) of the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court, and a referral for investigation by the International Criminal
Court should be made by the United Nations Security Council". |
| Author/creator: | | Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Mahn Mahn, Cynthia Maung, Brock Daniels, Noriyuki Murakami, Andrea Wirtz, Chris Beyrer |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Emergency Assistance Team (EAT BURMA), Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.57MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2009.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/ASAZ-7PRKLM-full_report.pdf/$File/full_report.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 17 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Burma’s Man-Made Suffering |
| Date of publication: | | 09 February 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Chronic divestment in health, alongside draconian restrictions, harassment and the incarceration of relief workers, remain the root drivers of the health and humanitarian crises in Burma. These are the real human rights violations that affect health—not sanctions...official restrictions governing the work of international aid agencies have been tightened, particularly the rules covering domestic travel and data collection. Their priorities are clear: until the global community has the moral fortitude to address this underlying reality, the humanitarian crises of Burma will continue, especially for the 70 Burmese HIV patients who will die today from lack of care" |
| Author/creator: | | Voravit Suwanvanichkij and Chris Beyrer |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.jhsph.edu/humanrights/_pdf/Vit_Man-MadeCrisis_Irrawaddy_9Feb09.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 February 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Beyond the International Spotlight, Critical Health Needs in Myanmar Remain Unmet |
| Date of publication: | | 22 December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "...The people of Myanmar cannot wait until the next big disaster for their critical health needs to be recognized; both the government of Myanmar and the international community urgently need to act in order prevent thousands of unnecessary deaths..."...contains a 6-minute podcast: "MSF Frontline Reports - Myanmar Cyclone Emergency II
May 2008" and a slide show:
"A Preventable Fate: The Failure of HIV/AIDS Treatment in Myanmar...
Thousands of people are needlessly dying due to a severe lack of lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment in Myanmar. Unable to continue shouldering the primary responsibility for responding to one of Asia’s worst HIV crises, MSF insists that the government of Myanmar and international organizations urgently and rapidly scale-up the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART)." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Top ten humanitarian crises of 2008" Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/allcontent.cfm?id=52 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | An unnatural disaster in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 02 December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "IN THE FIELD of disaster relief studies it is a truism that the first responders, whether in an earthquake or a
cyclone, are generally ordinary people in the affected area who have survived. They are the first to start
digging out the rubble or tending the wounded. Civilian volunteers are the backbone of the later phases of
emergency responses too - people who bring food and water, volunteer at shelters, give what they can. Only
in a system as profoundly inhumane as Burma would such good Samaritans be punished for their
compassion. But that is precisely what happened last week..." |
| Author/creator: | | Chris Beyrer and Frank Donaghue |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Boston Globe" |
| Format/size: | | pdf (24K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 February 2009 |
|
| Title: | | A preventable fate: The failure of ART scale-up in Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | November 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: The situation for many people living with HIV in Myanmar is critical due to a severe lack of lifesaving antiretroviral treatment (ART). MSF currently provides ART to more than 11,000 people. That is the majority of all available treatment countrywide but only a small fraction of what is urgently needed. For five years MSF has continually developed its HIV/AIDS programme to respond to the extensive needs, whilst the response of both the Government of Myanmar and the international community has remained minimal. MSF should not bear the main responsibility for one of Asia’s most serious HIV/AIDS epidemics. Pushed to its limit by the lack of other services providing ART, MSF has had to make the painful
decision to restrict the number of new patients it can treat. With few options to refer new patients for treatment elsewhere, the situation is dire.
An estimated 240,000 people are currently infected with HIV in Myanmar. 76,000 of these people are in urgent need of ART, yet less than 20 % of them receive it through the combined efforts of MSF, other international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Government of Myanmar.
For the remaining people the private market offers little assistance as the most commonly used first-line treatment costs the equivalent of a month’s average wage. The lack of accessible treatment resulted in 25,000 AIDS related deaths in 2007 and a similar number of people are expected to suffer the same fate this year, unless HIV/AIDS services - most importantly the provision of ART - are urgently scaled-up.
The Government of Myanmar and the International Community need to mobilize quickly in order to address this situation. Currently,
the Government spends a mere 0.3% of the gross domestic product on health, the lowest amount worldwide4, a small portion of which goes to HIV/AIDS. Likewise, overseas development aid for Myanmar is the second lowest per capita worldwide and few of the big international donors provide any resources to the country. Yet, 189 member states of the United Nations, including
Myanmar, endorsed the Millennium Development Goals, including the aim to “Achieve universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it, by 2010”. As it stands, this remains a far cry from becoming a reality in Myanmar. As an MSF ART patient in Myanmar stated, “All people must have a spirit of humanity in helping HIV patients regardless of nation, organization or government. We are all human beings so we must help each other”. Unable to continue shouldering the primary responsibility for responding to one of Asia’s worst HIV crises,
MSF insists that the Government of Myanmar and international organizations
urgently and rapidly scale-up ART provision. A vast gulf exists between the needs related to HIV/AIDS and the services provided. Unless ART provision is rapidly scaled-up many more people will needlessly suffer and die. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (735K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Exploitative governance under SPDC and DKBA authorities in Dooplaya District |
| Date of publication: | | 11 July 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "With largely consolidated control over Dooplaya District in southern Karen State the SPDC and DKBA, as the two dominant (and allied) military forces, operate under a system of coexistence. The local civilian population, in turn, faces exploitative governance on two fronts as both SPDC and DKBA soldiers seek to extract money, labour, food and other supplies from them. Enforcing heavy movement restrictions on top of persistent exploitative demands, local communities are facing deteriorating livelihood opportunities, increasing poverty, and a constriction of educational and health care opportunities. Persistent human rights abuses thus foster the economic pressures fuelling the continuing migration of rural communities in Dooplaya District to refugee camps in Thailand and towards livelihood opportunities at urban centres in Burma and Thailand. This report examines the situation of abuse in Dooplaya District from January to June 2008..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group Field Reports (KHRG #2008-F8) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (666 KB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.khrg.org/khrg2008/khrg08f8.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 November 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Health security among internally displaced and vulnerable populations in eastern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | January 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Conclusion:
"Continued conflict and consistent human rights violations have increased
mortality rates and worsened the health status of IDPs and other vulnerable
populations in Burma. Collaboration with and partnerships among border-based
health organisations have proved to be viable solutions towards providing
primary health care to these vulnerable populations, and should be a focus for
the international public health community. Without an end to human rights
violations in Burma, however, any improvements in health status are unlikely
to be sustained". |
| Author/creator: | | Mahn Mahn, Katherine C. Teela, Catherine I. Lee and Cara O’Connor |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | 2007 Myanmar/Burma Update Conference via Australian National University |
| Format/size: | | pdf (229K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://epress.anu.edu.au/myanmar02/pdf_instructions.html
http://epress.anu.edu.au/myanmar02/pdf/whole_book.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 December 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Borderline Health |
| Date of publication: | | 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | As a "slow-motion genocide" envelops ethnic minorities in eastern Burma, health workers rely on innovative strategies and raw courage to save the lives of mothers and infants. |
| Author/creator: | | Cathy Shufro |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Johns Hopkins Public Health" Online Edition, FAll 2008 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 December 2008 |
|
| Title: | | MSF material on Burma/Myanmar (2008) |
| Date of publication: | | 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Collection of MSF public documents, 2008, largely on the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis: "A Preventable Fate: The Failure of ART Scale-Up in Myanmar"..."Myanmar: Urgent Lack of HIV/AIDS Treatment Threatens Thousands"..."Myanmar: Three Months after Cyclone Nargis, MSF Still Providing Assistance"..."Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar: Survivors Living in Dire Conditions"..."Myanmar: Two Months After Cyclone Nargis, Needs Remain Critical"..."Myanmar: Critical Needs Remain for a Traumatized People"..."One Month After Cyclone Nargis Struck Myanmar, Survivors Still Living in Dire Conditions"..."After Cyclone Enormous Needs Unmet in Myanmar"..."Myanmar: MSF Operations in Cyclone-Hit Areas"..."Doctors Without Borders Calls For Immediate and Unobstructed Escalation of Myanmar Relief Operations"..."First MSF Relief Plane Arrives in Myanmar (Burma)"..."Doctors Without Borders Cargo Plane Arrives in Myanmar"..."MSF Dispatches Three Cargo Planes with 110 Tons of Relief Materials to Myanmar (Burma)"..."Cyclone in Myanmar (Burma): MSF teams intensify emergency response, a first relief plane is due to land in Yangon"..."Emergency Update: Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Activities in Myanmar"... "People tell stories of spending the night of the cyclone hanging onto trees all night long"..."Myanmar Cyclone: MSF Teams Bring Immediate Assistance While Additional Staff and Relief Materials are Ready to be Sent ...MSF Response to Aid Myanmar Cyclone Victims"..."Doctors Without Borders Releases Tenth Annual "Top Ten" Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories of 2007"..."Top Ten" Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories of 2007"..."People in Southeast Asia Needlessly Becoming Blind Due to a Neglected Virus"..."Myanmar Refugees in Bangladesh: Nowhere to Go"..."Dr. Hervé Isambert, MSF program manager
Prevented from working, the French Section of MSF leaves Myanmar"..."Prevented From Working, the French Section of MSF Leaves Myanmar (Burma)"..."EMERGENCY UPDATE: Aid Operations to Disaster Areas in South Asia"..."Frank Smithuis, MD:
"Impatience is the most important thing"" |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Withour Borders) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 December 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Population-based survey methods to quantify associations between human rights violations and health outcomes among internally displaced persons in eastern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | September 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Background: Case reports of human rights violations have focused on individuals’ experiences. Populationbased
quantification of associations between rights indicators and health outcomes is rare and has not been
documented in eastern Burma...
Objective: We describe the association between mortality and morbidity and the household-level experience
of human rights violations among internally displaced persons in eastern Burma...
Methods: Mobile health workers in conflict zones of eastern Burma conducted 1834 retrospective household
surveys in 2004. Workers recorded data on vital events, mid-upper arm circumference of young children,
malaria parasitaemia status of respondents and household experience of various human rights violations
during the previous 12 months...
Results: Under-5 mortality was 218 (95% confidence interval 135 to 301) per 1000 live births. Almost onethird
of households reported forced labour (32.6%). Forced displacement (8.9% of households) was
associated with increased child mortality (odds ratio = 2.80), child malnutrition (odds ratio = 3.22) and
landmine injury (odds ratio = 3.89). Theft or destruction of the food supply (reported by 25.2% of households)
was associated with increased crude mortality (odds ratio = 1.58), malaria parasitaemia (odds ratio = 1.82),
child malnutrition (odds ratio = 1.94) and landmine injury (odds ratio = 4.55). Multiple rights violations
(14.4% of households) increased the risk of child (incidence rate ratio = 2.18) and crude (incidence rate
ratio = 1.75) mortality and the odds of landmine injury (odds ratio = 19.8). Child mortality risk was increased
more than fivefold (incidence rate ratio = 5.23) among families reporting three or more rights violations...
Conclusions: Widespread human rights violations in conflict zones in eastern Burma are associated with
significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Population-level associations can be quantified using
standard epidemiological methods. This approach requires further validation and refinement elsewhere. |
| Author/creator: | | Luke C Mullany, Adam K Richards, Catherine I Lee, Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Cynthia Maung, Mahn Mahn, Chris Beyrer and Thomas J Lee |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2007;61;908-914 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (370K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 December 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Chronic Emergency - Health and Human Rights in Eastern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 07 September 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | This link leads to a document containing the Table of Contents of the report, with links to the English, Burmese and Thai versions...
Executive Summary: "Disinvestment in health, coupled with widespread poverty, corruption, and the dearth of skilled personnel have resulted in the collapse of Burma’s health system. Today, Burma’s health indicators by official figures are among the worst in the region. However, information collected by the Back Pack Health Workers Team (BPHWT) on the eastern frontiers of the country, facing decades of civil war and widespread human rights abuses, indicate a far greater public health catastrophe in areas where official figures are not collected.
In these eastern areas of Burma, standard public health indicators such as population pyramids, infant mortality rates, child mortality rates, and maternal mortality ratios more closely resemble other countries facing widespread humanitarian disasters, such as Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Angola, and Cambodia shortly after the ouster of the Khmer Rouge. The most common cause of death continues to be malaria, with over 12% of the population at any given time infected with Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous form of malaria. One out of every twelve women in this area may lose her life around the time of childbirth, deaths that are largely preventable. Malnutrition is unacceptably common, with over 15% of children at any time with evidence of at least mild malnutrition, rates far higher than their counterparts who have fled to refugee camps in Thailand. Knowledge of sanitation and safe drinking water use remains low.
Human rights violations are very common in this population. Within the year prior, almost a third of households had suffered from forced labor, almost 10% forced displacement, and a quarter had had their food confiscated or destroyed. Approximately one out of every fifty households had suffered violence at the hands of soldiers, and one out of 140 households had a member injured by a landmine within the prior year alone. There also appear to be some regional variations in the patterns of human rights abuses. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in areas most solidly controlled by the SPDC and its allies, such as Karenni State and Pa’an District, faced more forced labor while those living in more contested areas, such as Nyaunglebin and Toungoo Districts, faced more forced relocation. Most other areas fall in between these two extremes. However, such patterns should be interpreted with caution, given that the BPHW survey was not designed to or powered to reliably detect these differences.
Using epidemiologic tools, several human rights abuses were found to be closely tied to adverse health outcomes. Families forced to flee within the preceding twelve months were 2.4 times more likely to have a child (under age 5) die than those who had not been forcibly displaced. Households forced to flee also were 3.1 times as likely to have malnourished children compared to those in more stable situations.
Food destruction and theft were also very closely tied to several adverse health consequences. Families which had suffered this abuse in the preceding twelve months were almost 50% more likely to suffer a death in the household. These households also were 4.6 times as likely to have a member suffer from a landmine injury, and 1.7 times as likely to have an adult member suffer from malaria, both likely tied to the need to forage in the jungle. Children of these households were 4.4 times as likely to suffer from malnutrition compared to households whose food supply had not been compromised.
For the most common abuse, forced labor, families that had suffered from this within the past year were 60% more likely to have a member suffer from diarrhea (within the two weeks prior to the survey), and more than twice as likely to have a member suffer from night blindness (a measure of vitamin A deficiency and thus malnutrition) compared to families free from this abuse.
Not only are many abuses linked statistically from field observations to adverse health consequences, they are yet another obstacle to accessing health care services already out of reach for the majority of IDP populations in the eastern conflict zones of Burma. This is especially clear with women’s reproductive health: forced displacement within the past year was associated with a 6.1 fold lower use of contraception. Given the high fertility rate of this population and the high prevalence of conditions such as malaria and malnutrition, the lack of access often is fatal, as reflected by the high maternal mortality ratio—as many as one in 12 women will die from pregnancy-related complications.
This report is the first to measure basic public health indicators and quantify the extent of human rights abuses at the population level amongst IDP communities living in the eastern conflict zones of Burma. These results indicate that the poor health status of these IDP communities is intricately and inexorably linked to the human rights context in which health outcomes are observed. Without addressing factors which drive ill health and excess morbidity and mortality in these populations, such as widespread human rights abuses and inability to access healthcare services, a long-term, sustainable improvement in the public health of these areas cannot occur..." |
| Language: | | English, Burmese, Thai |
| Source/publisher: | | Back Pack Health Worker Team |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.8MB, 2.2MB - English; 1,2MB - Burmese; 1.6MB - Thai) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://burmalibrary.org/docs3/ChronicEmergencyE-ocr.pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/ChronicEmergency(English%20ver).pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/ChronicEmergency(Burmese%20ver).pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/ChronicEmergency(Thai%20ver).pdf
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/Chronic_Emergency-links.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 06 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Mortality rates in conflict zones in Karen, Karenni, and Mon states in eastern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | July 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Objectives: To estimate mortality rates for populations living in civil war zones in Karen, Karenni, and
Mon states of eastern Burma....
Methods: Indigenous mobile health workers providing care in conflict zones in Karen, Karenni, and
Mon areas of eastern Burma conducted cluster sample surveys interviewing heads of households during
3-month time periods in 2002 and 2003 to collect demographic and mortality data....
Results: In 2002 health workers completed 1290 household surveys comprising 7496 individuals. In
2003, 1609 households with 9083 members were surveyed. Estimates of vital statistics were as follows:
infant mortality rate: 135 (95% CI: 96–181) and 122 (95% CI: 70–175) per 1000 live births; under-five
mortality rate: 291 (95% CI: 238–348) and 276 (95% CI: 190–361) per 1000 live births; crude mortality
rate: 25 (95% CI: 21–29) and 21 (95% CI: 15–27) per 1000 persons per year....
Conclusions: Populations living in conflict zones in eastern Burma experience high mortality rates.
The use of indigenous mobile health workers provides one means of measuring health status among
populations that would normally be inaccessible due to ongoing conflict.....
Keywords: Burma, mortality, internally displaced persons, malaria, landmines, civil conflict |
| Author/creator: | | Thomas J. Lee, Luke C. Mullany, Adam K. Richards, Heather K. Kuiper, Cynthia Maung and Chris Beyrer |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Tropical Medicine and International Health" Volume 11 no 7 pp 1119–1127 July 2006 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (230K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 December 2008 |
|
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Diseases
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Communicable (infectious) diseases
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Communicable (infectious) diseases - several diseases
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Communicable disease risk assessment and interventions |
| Date of publication: | | December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Cyclone Nargis: Myanmar (May 2008):
Contents_
Acknowledgements ...
1. Background and risk factors ...
2. Priority communicable diseases ...
3. Immediate interventions for communicable disease control ...
4. Relevant publications … 5. WHO-recommended case definitions ... |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | World Health Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Responding to AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, and Emerging Infectious Diseases in Burma: Dilemmas of Policy and Practice |
| Date of publication: | | 10 October 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | In 2004 the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (“Global Fund”) awarded program grants to Burma (Myanmar) totaling US$98.4 million over five years—recognizing the severity of Burma’s HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics, and noting that malaria was the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and the leading killer of children under five years old [1]. For those individuals working in health in Burma, these grants were welcome, indeed [2]. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | PLoS Medicine |
| Format/size: | | html,pdf (293.64 KB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1592343/
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=BBE6B472713F9A20EA12750... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Responding to AIDS, TB, Malaria and Emerging Infectious Diseases in Burma: Dilemmas of Policy and Practice |
| Date of publication: | | March 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | "...This report seeks to synthesize what is known about HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB and other
disease threats including Avian influenza (H5N1 virus) in Burma; assess the regional health and
security concerns associated with these epidemics; and to suggest policy options for responding
to these threats in the context of tightening restrictions imposed by the junta..." ...I. Introduction [p. 9-13]
II. SPDC Health Expenditures and Policies [p.14-18]
III. Public Health Status [p.19-42]
a. HIV/AIDS
b. TB
c. Malaria
d. Other health threats: Avian Flu, Filaria, Cholera
IV. SPDC Policies Towards the Three "Priority Diseases" [p. 43-45]
and Humanitarian Assistance
V. Health Threats and Regional Security Issues [p. 46-51]
a. HIV
b. TB
c. Malaria
VI. Policy and Program Options [p. 52-56]
VII. References [p. 57-68]
Appendix A: Official translation of guidelines
Appendix B: Statement by Bureau of Public Affairs
Appendix C: Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Avian Flu notification. |
| Author/creator: | | Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH; Luke Mullany, PhD; Adam Richards, MD, MPH; Aaron Samuals, MHS; Voravit Suwanvanichkij, MD, MPH; om Lee, MD, MHS; Nicole Franck, MHS |
| Language: | | English, Burmese, Chinese |
| Source/publisher: | | Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.6MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/respondingburmese-ES-bu.pdf (Executive Summary, Burmese, 83K)
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs6/respondingburmese-ES-ch.pdf (Executive Summary, Chinese, 144K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 20 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Response of falciparum malaria to different antimalarials in Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | The purpose of the study was to ascertain the therapeutic efficacy of different treatments for uncomplicated falciparum
malaria in the hospitals in Sagaing, northern and eastern Shan, to facilitate updating the existing national antimalarial
drug policy. The proposed 14-day trial for monitoring the efficacy of treatments of uncomplicated falciparum malaria is
an efficient method for identifying treatment failure patterns at the intermediate level (township hospital) in the Union
of Myanmar. Minimal clinical and parasitological data for days 0±14 were required to classify treatment failure and
success. Clinical and parasitological responses on day 3 and days 4±14 were used as clear examples of early and late
treatment failure, respectively. Mefloquine is five times more likely to be effective than chloroquine and sulfadoxine-
pyrimethamine (S-P), whereas chloroquine and S-P treatments have nearly identical failure patterns. The alarming
frequency of clinical and parasitological failure (failure rate >50%) following chloroquine treatment was reported in
Sagaing and following S-P treatment in Sagaing and eastern Shan. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | World Health Organization |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:EesOglB2a_cJ:scholar.google.com/+myanmar+health&hl=en&... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Burma Major infectious diseases |
| Description/subject: | | Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high ...
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever ...
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria ...
water contact disease: leptospirosis ...
animal contact disease: rabies ...
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009) ...
Definition: This entry lists major infectious diseases likely to be encountered in countries where the risk of such diseases is assessed to be very high as compared to the United States. These infectious diseases represent risks to US government personnel traveling to the specified country for a period of less than three years. The degree of risk is assessed by considering the foreign nature of these infectious diseases, their severity, and the probability of being affected by the diseases present. The diseases listed do not necessarily represent the total disease burden experienced by the local population. |
| Source/publisher: | | Index Mundi |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 October 2010 |
|
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Cross-border health issues
Individual Documents
| Title: | | An assessment of vulnerability to HIV infection of boatmen in Teknaf, Bangladesh |
| Date of publication: | | 14 March 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Conclusion: "Boatmen in Teknaf are an integral part of a high-risk sexual behaviour
network between Myanmar and Bangladesh. They are at risk of obtaining HIV infection
due to cross border mobility and unsafe sexual practices. There is an urgent need for
designing interventions targeting boatmen in Teknaf to combat an impending epidemic of
HIV among this group. They could be included in the serological surveillance as a
vulnerable group. Interventions need to address issues on both sides of the border, other
vulnerable groups, and refugees. Strong political will and cross border collaboration is
mandatory for such interventions." |
| Author/creator: | | Rukhsana Gazi, Alec Mercer, Tanyaporn Wansom, Humayun Kabir, Nirod Chandra Saha, Tasnim Azim |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Conflict and Health 2008, 2:5 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (154K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/2/1/5 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Displacement and disease: the Shan exodus and infectious disease implications for Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | 14 March 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract:
"Decades of neglect and abuses by the Burmese government have decimated the health of the
peoples of Burma, particularly along her eastern frontiers, overwhelmingly populated by
ethnic minorities such as the Shan. Vast areas of traditional Shan homelands have been
systematically depopulated by the Burmese military regime as part of its counter-insurgency
policy, which also employs widespread abuses of civilians by Burmese soldiers, including
rape, torture, and extrajudicial executions. These abuses, coupled with Burmese government
economic mismanagement which has further entrenched already pervasive poverty in rural
Burma, have spawned a humanitarian catastrophe, forcing hundreds of thousands of ethnic
Shan villagers to flee their homes for Thailand. In Thailand, they are denied refugee status
and its legal protections, living at constant risk for arrest and deportation. Classified as
“economic migrants,” many are forced to work in exploitative conditions, including in the
Thai sex industry, and Shan migrants often lack access to basic health services in Thailand.
Available health data on Shan migrants in Thailand already indicates that this population
bears a disproportionately high burden of infectious diseases, particularly HIV, tuberculosis,
lymphatic filariasis, and some vaccine-preventable illnesses, undermining progress made by
Thailand’s public health system in controlling such entities. The ongoing failure to address
the root political causes of migration and poor health in eastern Burma, coupled with the
many barriers to accessing health programs in Thailand by undocumented migrants,
particularly the Shan, virtually guarantees Thailand’s inability to sustainably control many
infectious disease entities, especially along her borders with Burma." |
| Author/creator: | | Voravit Suwanvanichkij |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Conflict and Health 2008, 2:4 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (170K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/2/1/4 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Responding to infectious diseases in Burma and her border regions |
| Date of publication: | | 14 March 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Overview of the January 2007 conference, “Responding to Infectious
Diseases in the Border Regions of South and Southeast Asia” hosted by the Faculty of Tropical Medicine of Mahidol University in
Bangkok, Thailand. |
| Author/creator: | | Chris Beyrer, Thomas J Lee |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Conflict and Health 2008, 2:2 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (91K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.conflictandhealth.com/content/2/1/2 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Thailand Under Threat |
| Date of publication: | | June 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | How Burma’s dams project could spread disease...
"When Nang A Cha, a Shan migrant, consulted a doctor in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, complaining of a fever and a swollen leg, the physician initially suspected malaria. A blood test ruled that out, but the young laboratory technician was still puzzled by what he saw under the microscope and sent the blood smear to his supervisor, a semi-retired man who had been trained in parasitology about 40 years previously.
He was astounded by what he saw: for the first time in 30 years, he gazed at an old nemesis, an entity believed eradicated from urban Thailand. There was no mistaking the threadlike shadows in the blood smear: Wuchereria bancrofti, the parasite responsible for lymphatic filariasis, more colloquially known as elephantiasis, a term conjuring up images of grotesquely swollen limbs and severe disability.
Lymphatic filariasis is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. Once inside the human host, the parasite resides in the lymphatic system, producing larvae which then migrate back to the blood and are subsequently picked up by mosquitoes to continue the infection cycle. Over time, progressive damage to the lymphatics causes obstructions and subsequent swelling from accumulation of lymph..." |
| Author/creator: | | Withaya Huanok, MD |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Border Health (Thailand - Myanmar) |
| Date of publication: | | 19 March 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | The Meeting on Development of Health Collaboration along Thailand-Myanmar Border areas:
Five Presentations on Situation on Migrants and Six Report on Selected Health Problems/Activities along the border |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | World Health Organization /Thailand |
| Format/size: | | MS Office |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Karenni refugees living in Thai–Burmese border camps: traumatic experiences, mental health outcomes, and social functioning |
| Date of publication: | | 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract
In June 2001, we assessed mental health problems among Karenni refugees residing in camps in Mae Hong Son,
Thailand, to determine the prevalence of mental illness, identify risk factors, and develop a culturally appropriate
intervention program. A systematic random sample was used with stratification for the three camps; 495 people aged 15
years or older from 317 households participated. We constructed a questionnaire that included demographic
characteristics, culture-specific symptoms of mental illness, the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25, the Harvard Trauma
Questionnaire, and selected questions from the SF-36 Health Survey. Mental health outcome scores indicated elevated
levels of depression and anxiety symptoms; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scores were comparable to scores in
other communities affected by war and persecution. Psychosocial risk factors for poorer mental health and social
functioning outcomes were insufficient food, higher number of trauma events, previous mental illness, and landmine
injuries. Modifications in refugee policy may improve social functioning, and innovative mental health and psychosocial
programs need to be implemented, monitored, and evaluated for efficacy.
Published by Elsevier Ltd. |
| Author/creator: | | Barbara Lopes Cardozoa, Leisel Talleya, Ann Burtonb, Carol Crawford |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Social Science & Medicine _58 (2004) 2637–2644 |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Meeting at the crossroads: Myanmar migrants and their use of Thai health care services |
| Date of publication: | | 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | This study assesses the use of health services among cross-border migrants from Myanmar who are now living in Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand. The migrants comprise three main ethnic groups, namely the Burmese, Karen and Mon, most of whom have no formal education and are agricultural workers. Results indicate that although the migrants can access government health facilities, they are still more likely to buy drugs or use herbal medicines for treating themselves when they have minor illnesses, while the Thais are more likely to seek medical care from government facilities. The main difficulties for migrants in accessing health services are their legal status, financial constraints, and an inability to speak Thai. Moreover, health beliefs also determine the health-seeking behaviors of migrants, particularly among the Karen who believe in spirits and herbal medicine, while very few of the Burmese and the Mon do so. This leads to the conclusion that ethnicity is an important determinant of the utilization of health services by migrants from Myanmar in Kanchanaburi. |
| Author/creator: | | Pimonpan Isarabhakdi |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asian and Pacific migration journal via Mahidol University, THAILANDE |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.44 MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16017346 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | In vitro susceptibility of Plasmodium falciparum isolates from Myanmar to antimalarial drugs |
| Date of publication: | | 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | In vitro drug susceptibility profiles were assessed in 75 Plasmodium falciparum isolates from 4 sites in Myanmar. Except at Mawlamyine, the site closest to the Thai border, prevalence and degree of resistance to mefloquine were lower among the Myanmar isolates as compared with those from Thailand. Geometric mean concentration that inhibits 50% (IC50) and 90% (IC90) of Mawlamyine isolates were 51 nM (95% confidence interval [CI], 40-65) and 124 nM (95% CI, 104-149), respectively. At the nearest Thai site, Maesod, known for high-level multidrug resistance, the corresponding values for mefloquine IC50 and IC90 were 92 nM (95% CI, 71-121) and 172 nM (95% CI, 140-211). Mefloquine susceptibility of P. falciparum in Myanmar, except for Mawlamyine, was consistent with clinical-parasitological efficacy in semi-immune people. High sensitivity to artemisinin compounds was observed in this geographical region. The data suggest that highly mefloquine-resistant P. falciparum is concentrated in a part of the Thai-Myanmar border region. |
| Author/creator: | | C Wongsrichanalai, K Lin, LW Pang, MA Faiz, H Noedl, T Wimonwattrawatee, A Laoboonchai, and F Kawamoto |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/65/5/450 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Report of Cases and Deaths in CampsAreas of Work Border Health (Thailand-Myanmar) |
| Description/subject: | | Border Health Information, Border Health Meeting 2004
* Border Health Meeting 2005
* Overview of Thai/Myanmar Border Health Situation 2005 with map of Population of the Provinces in Thailand Bordering Myanmar |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | World Health Organization /Thailand |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 October 2010 |
|
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Hepatitis
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Control of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Myanmar: Public Health Issues |
| Date of publication: | | 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract:
"Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is considered an important health problem in Myanmar as surveys carried out among different population groups revealed HBsAg carrier rate of 10-12%. Health authorities have taken various steps to reduce the incidence of hepatitis B and hepatitis B-associated chronic liver disease in Myanmar. In that context, interruption of its route of transmission and immunization of the susceptible host are the two main approaches. Research studies indicate that the vertical route of transmission might be the commonest route in Myanmar, although the possibility of horizontal transmission through sharing of razors and toothbrushes, or local customs leading to iatrogenic transmission of HBV infection could exist. In view of that, public education on transmission of HBV and means of interrupting it should be carried out especially focusing on specific high-risk groups. Moreover, to interrupt mother-to-infant transmission of HBV infection, hepatitis B vaccination should be promoted. As Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) is a successful public health measure in Myanmar, incorporation of hepatitis B vaccine into the EPI programme will eventually lead to the control of hepatitis B infection in Myanmar." |
| Author/creator: | | Myo Khin |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | World Health Organisation -- Regional Health Forum WHO South-East Asia Region (Volume 6, Number 2) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Molecular Characteristic-Based Epidemiology of Hepatitis B, C, and E Viruses and GB Virus C/Hepatitis G Virus in Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | April 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract: We carried out a molecular characteristic-based epidemiological survey of various hepatitis
viruses, including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis E virus (HEV), and
GB virus C (GBV-C)/hepatitis G virus (HGV), in Myanmar. The study population of 403 subjects
consisted of 213 healthy individuals residing in the city of Yangon, Myanmar, and the surrounding
suburbs and 190 liver disease patients (155 virus-related liver disease patients and 35 nonviral
disease patients). The infection rates of the viruses among the 213 healthy subjects were as follows: 8% for HBV (16 patients),
2% for HCV (4 patients), and 8% for GBV-C/HGV (17 patients). In contrast, for 155 patients with acute hepatitis, chronic
hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma, the infection rates were 30% for HBV (46 patients), 27% for HCV
(41 patients), and 11% for GBV-C/HGV (17 patients). In the nonviral liver disease group of 35 patients with alcoholic liver
disease, fatty liver, liver abscess, and biliary disease, the infection rates were 6% for HBV (2 patients), 20% for HCV
(7 patients), and 26% for GBV-C/HGV (9 patients). The most common viral genotypes were type C of HBV (77%), type 3b
of HCV (67%), and type 2 of GBV-C/HGV (67%). Moreover, testing for HEV among 371 subjects resulted in the detection
of anti-HEV immunoglobulin G (IgG) in 117 patients (32%). The age prevalence of anti-HEV IgG was 3% for patients younger
than 20 years and 30% or more for patients 20 years of age or older. Furthermore, a high prevalence of anti-HEV IgG (24%)
was also found in swine living together with humans in Yangon. These results suggest that these hepatitis virus infections are
widespread in Myanmar and have led to a high incidence of acute and chronic liver disease patients in the region.
and Kenji Abe1,* |
| Author/creator: | | Kazuhiko Nakai, Khin Maung Win, San San Oo,4 Yasuyuki Arakawa |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2001, p. 1536-1539, Vol. 39, No. 4 |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://jcm.asm.org/cgi/reprint/39/4/1536.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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Leprosy
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Leprosy-free, but stigma still hurts |
| Date of publication: | | 22 August 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | “PEOPLE are afraid of us; when I go into town they give me a dirty look,” says U Mg Mg Khin, 73, a leprosy patient at the Mayanchaung Welfare Centre, Halegu township, in Yangon Division. “I have to hide my hands and legs whenever I go into town.”
The centre, which is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Yangon and located close to the Yangon-Naypyitaw highway, operates under the Department of Social Welfare and currently houses 56 former leprosy patients. |
| Author/creator: | | Nilar Win |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Myanmar Times |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Leprosy Elimination in Myanmar, A Success Story |
| Date of publication: | | 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | eprosy has been a major public health problem in
Myanmar for many years. By the 1950s, Myanmar
ranked as a country with one of the highest
prevalence rates of the disease. The Government of Union
of Myanmar had been fighting against the disease with
the expertise and advice of the World Health Organization
(WHO) and INGOs. WHO has closely supported the leprosy
programme in Myanmar from the 1960s through several
projects, as well as research to develop better preventive
and curative methods against leprosy.
WHO MDT was introduced in Myanmar in 1986. The
leprosy prevalence at that time was 59.3 per 10,000
population with 222,209 registered leprosy cases in the
country. Nationwide MDT Programme started in hyperendemic
areas in 1988. The prevalence rate was 39.9 per
10,000 with 155,857 registered cases. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | World Health Organization, SEARO |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section10/Section20/Section54_12168.htm |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | JICA continues support for leprosy eradication project |
| Date of publication: | | 28 September 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | THE JAPAN International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has already spent 300 million Yen (K275 million) in its five-year pilot project in leprosy control and rehabilitation in Myanmar, a senior official with JICA said last week.
“JICA implemented a pilot plan in April 2000 which will run until March 2005. So far we have spent about 100 million Yen (Kyats 915m) annually,” said Dr Yutaka Ishida, Chief Adviser, Leprosy Control and Basic Health Services.
The JICA project covers 48 townships in Mandalay, Magwe and Sagaing divisions including the Special Skin Hospital and a leprosy community in Hlegu Township in Yangon Division. |
| Author/creator: | | Khin Maung Soe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Myanmar Times |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | A Million Smiles: Eliminating Leprosyin South-East Asia |
| Date of publication: | | 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Leprosy patients are humans with eyes seeing others smiling and laughing, with ears hearing jokes and laughter, and with faces that could smile and laugh, but who never laugh or smile once they have acquired the disease. Now with multi-drug therapy, they are smiling and laughing like others.
Excerpts from “Thitsar Yaysin [Holy Truths]" by Chit San Win#
* Introduction
Leprosy is a disease recognized globally as a dreadful illness associated with the great social, mental, and physical suffering. In ancient days, people knew leprosy as “Kushtha” as it was termed in Sanskrit. The disease is supposed to be originated in India and spread around the world over 2 500 years ago. |
| Author/creator: | | Than Sein, Kyaw Lwin |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Regional Health Forum WHO South-East Asia Region(Volume 7,Number 1) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.searo.who.int/LinkFiles/Regional_Health_Forum_1.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | A STUDY ON COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES ON LEPROSY |
| Date of publication: | | 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Introduction: 1.1 Leprosy
1.2 History of leprosy
1.3 Stigma of leprosy
1.4 Health education
1.5 The global situation
1.6 Global strategy for the elimination of leprosy
1.7 Global strategy beyond the elimination phase
1.8 Leprosy in Singapore, Chapter 2 Review of Literature: 2.1 Community knowledge of leprosy
2.2 Beliefs and misconceptions about leprosy
2.3 Community attitudes towards leprosy
2.4 Measuring leprosy stigma
2.5 Community health practices
2.6 Effectiveness of interventions targeting knowledge and attitudes
2.7 Concluding remarks
2.8 Rationale for the study
2.9 Objectives, Chapter 3 Methodology: 3.1 Study design
3.2 Place of study
3.3 Study population
3.4 Sampling
3.5 Data collection
3.6 Interviewers
3.7 Pilot study
3.8 Data processing and analysis
3.9 Study variables
3.10 Minimizing errors
3.11 Ethical issues, Chapter 4 Results: 4.1 Descriptive Analysis
4.1.1 Socio-demographic variables
4.1.2 General information
4.1.3 Knowledge of leprosy
4.1.4 Misconceptions regarding leprosy
4.1.5 Attitudes towards leprosy patients
4.2 Statistical Analysis for Associations
4.2.1 Knowledge of leprosy by socio-demographic variables
4.2.2 Beliefs regarding leprosy by socio-demographic variables
4.2.3 Overall knowledge scores
4.2.4 Beliefs regarding the cause of leprosy by socio-demographic
variables
4.2.5 Attitudes towards persons affected by leprosy
4.2.6 Overall attitudes scores
4.2.7 Median attitude scores
4.2.8 Relationship between overall knowledge, age, education and
accommodation of the respondents with attitude score
4.2.9 Stigmatising attitudes towards leprosy.4.3. Stratified Analysis
4.3.1 Stratified analysis by age group
4.4. Multiple Regression Analysis, Chapter 5 Discussion and Conclusions: 5.1 Main findings
5.2 Limitations of the present study
5.3 Interpretation of findings
5.4 Conclusions
5.5 Recommendations, Chapter 6 References
Appendices: Annexe I Questionnaire, Annexe II Operational definitions |
| Author/creator: | | PADMINI SUBRAMANIAM, MBBS. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Department of Community, Occupational & Family Medicine National University of Singapore |
| Format/size: | | pdf (725.81 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Leprosy elimination programme in Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Leprosy has been endemic in Myanmar since
ancient times. The earliest information on the
prevalence of leprosy in Myanmar came from a
report by the Leprosy Commission in India
published in 1893. During the census in 1891,
6464 cases or 8.4 per 10000 population were
recorded in a population of 7.5 million. But the
illness was diagnosed by enumerators without the
knowledge of leprosy.
Several surveys have been carried out
since 1932 (Tha Saing-Santra) which indicated
high prevalence in various parts of the country |
| Author/creator: | | Dr. U Kyaw Lwin, M.B.,B.S.(Rgn)D, .P.H.(Canada) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | MJCMP |
| Format/size: | | pdf (253.18 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | The efficacy and tolerability of rifampicin in Burmese patients with lepromatous leprosy |
| Date of publication: | | March 1978 |
| Description/subject: | | SUMMARY — Seventy-one Burmese adult patients with lepromatous leprosy were
treated with various regimens of rifampicin monotherapy, 450 mg. daily for 60
days or 900 mg. once weekly for 12 weeks or 450 mg. daily for six months. Of the
patients, 18 had relapsed after stopping DDS therapy, 20 were intolerant of DDS, 18
were DDS resistant and 15 had received no previous treatment.
Rifampicin produced a 75% reduction in the size of skin nodules in two thirds
of the patients and a complete disappearance of nodules in the others. After one month
drug treatment the MI fell to zero but the BI remained unchanged. The once weekly
regimen was as effective as the daily treatment. Four patients had to be withdrawn
due to ENL reactions.
NOTE:The contents of this paper were presented at the Burma Medical Conference, 1977. |
| Author/creator: | | TIN SHWE, KYAW LWIN, KYO THWE |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Hansen. Int |
| Format/size: | | pdf (298.66 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
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SARS
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Auf beunruhigend niedrigem Niveau - das marode staatliche Gesundheitssystem |
| Date of publication: | | September 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Die Menschen in Burma haben wirklich Glück, dass das SARS-Virus an dem Land praktisch vorbeigezogen ist. Die meisten Beobachter stimmen zweifellos zu, dass Burma bereits ein sehr ernstes Problem mit der Volksgesundheit hat und über ein staatliches Gesundheitssystem verfügt, welches eindeutig nicht in der Lage ist, ernsthaft etwas dagegen zu unternehmen. Der Ausbruch einer so schweren Epidemie wie SARS hätte das System völlig zerschlagen und eine Katastrophe ausgelöst.
Privatiserung, Militarisierung und Politisierung der Gesundheit
Keys: public health system, militarization and politization of health, privatisation of public services |
| Author/creator: | | Alfred Oehlers and Alice Khin Saw Win, Deutsch von Stefanie Hensengerth |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Südostasien Jg. 19, Nr. 3 - Asienhaus |
| Format/size: | | pdf (12K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 January 2004 |
|
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Sexually-transmitted diseases
Individual Documents
| Title: | | For Sex Workers, A Life of Risks |
| Date of publication: | | 25 February 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | RANGOON, Feb 25, 2010 (IPS) - When Aye Aye (not her real name) leaves her youngest son at home each night, she tells him that she has to work selling snacks. But what Aye actually sells is sex so that her 12-year-old son, a Grade 7 student, can finish his education. |
| Author/creator: | | Mon Mon Myat |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | IPS |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | A ‘climate of fear’ at the Thai-Burma border |
| Date of publication: | | 03 February 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | The oppressive regime running Burma has both forced many Burmese into displaced person camps in Thailand. Young Burmese people are particularly vulnerable, especially due to issues such as sexual health education and trafficking.
By any account, Burma is a beautiful, naturally rich country with a diverse ethnic history. It is also run by one of the most oppressive regimes in the world, the State Peace and Development Council, an 11-member group of military commanders. This junta, in power under different names since 1988, has been cited for countless human rights abuses. The SPDC also oversees a corrupt, inefficient economy. In spite of the country’s natural wealth, social-economic conditions continue to deteriorate, along with Burma’s schools and hospitals. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Conversation for A Better World |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Family Planning Factsheet in Burmese |
| Description/subject: | | Diaphragms Factsheet -
Emergency Contraception Factsheet -
The Contraceptive Implant Factsheet -
The Contraceptive Injection (DMPA) Factsheet -
The Contraceptive Pill Factsheet -
The Copper IUD Factsheet -
The Male Condom Factsheet -
The Minipill or Progestogen-Only Pill (POP) Factsheet -
The Progestogen IUD Factsheet -
The Vaginal Ring (NuvaRing®) Factsheet -
Other:
Menstruation (Periods) Factsheet -
Sexually Transmissible Infections (STIs) Factsheet - |
| Language: | | Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Family Planning NSW |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 October 2010 |
|
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Typhoid
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Typhoid Fever outbreak in Madaya Township, Mandalay Division, Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | In September 2000, an outbreak of typhoid fever was reported in a rural village of Central Myanmar.
The authors investigated the outbreak in the affected village. A suspected case was a person suffering from
fever with either constipation, abdominal pain, diarrhoea / bloody diarrhoea. A probable case was a suspected
case who had positive result on the diazo urine test or widal test. Based on probable cases, the authors
conducted a case-control study comparing history of contact with the cases, water source, and personal
hygiene. Control was a person living in the village was not ill and having a negative result for diazo urine
test. Among 49 suspected cases, 33 were probable. Attack rate was 1.2%. Three cases had a positive culture
for Salmonella typhi and were not drug resistant. The following risk factors were identified: drinking
unboiled river water (adjusted OR 12.5, 95%CI 2.8-75.3), history of contact with other patients before the
illness (adjusted OR 22, 95%CI 3.5-76.2), no hand washing with soap after defecation (adjusted OR 0.15,
95% CI 0.03 - 0.81). Environmental investigation result showed that most of the households had unsanitary
latrine and some latrines were constructed near the edge of a river. The outbreak subsided quickly after
intervention.
Keywords : Typhoid fever, Outbreak, Myanmar |
| Author/creator: | | Tin Tin Aye, Potjaman Siriarayapon |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Medical Association of Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 November 2010 |
|
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Non-communicable diseases
-
Cancer
Individual Documents
| Title: | | "Health Messenger" Issue 40 -- Non-Communicable Diseases |
| Date of publication: | | September 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | TABLE OF CONTENTS:
NCD DEFINITION and RISK FACTORS...
STROKE...
ASTHMA vs. COPD...
DIABETES MELLITUS...
EPIGASTRIC PAIN...
CANCER...
ALCOHOL USE DISORDER |
| Language: | | Burmese, English |
| Source/publisher: | | Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.1MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 January 2011 |
|
| Title: | | Doctors urge early detection for breast cancer |
| Date of publication: | | 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | WHEN the biopsy result came back, tears were rolling down 63-year-old Daw Khin Tin’s face.
“While I was bathing, just by chance I touched a small lump in my breast. It wasn’t painful but one week later it seemed bigger so I went to a clinic and the doctor urged me to have a biopsy done straight away,” Daw Khin Tin said.
“The results showed the cancer was already at stage three,” the final stage before it spreads to other parts of the body. “I was haunted by the disease and lived with the constant fear that I would die.” |
| Author/creator: | | Zon Pann Pwint |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Myanmar Times (Volume 26, No. 512) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 November 2010 |
|
-
Cardiovascular diseases
Individual Documents
| Title: | | "Health Messenger" Issue 40 -- Non-Communicable Diseases |
| Date of publication: | | September 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | TABLE OF CONTENTS:
NCD DEFINITION and RISK FACTORS...
STROKE...
ASTHMA vs. COPD...
DIABETES MELLITUS...
EPIGASTRIC PAIN...
CANCER...
ALCOHOL USE DISORDER |
| Language: | | Burmese, English |
| Source/publisher: | | Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.1MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 January 2011 |
|
| Title: | | Prevalence of Hypertension in Two Selected Villages of Kayin State, Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Abstract:
"The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of hypertension among the 15-years-or-above population in Ta-Yoke-Hla (TYH) and Myaning-Ga-Lay (MGL) villages in Kayin state. During the cross-sectional survey conducted in November 2001, 753 respondents (370 in TYH and 383 in MGL) were interviewed. Weight, height, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured for calculation of body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio. Of them, 108 (54 with hypertension and 54 with normal blood pressure) were examined for serum cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) level. The overall percentages of hypertension (systolic ³140 mmHg and diastolic ³ 90 mmHg) were: 22.4% for both townships; 17.3% in TYH; 27.4% in MGL; 18.7% among males, and 24.5% among females. The respective percentages of hypertension among different age groups (15-24 years, 25-39 years, 40 or above) were: 5.5%; 12.7%, and 38.1% for both townships; 3.8%; 11.3%, and 31.3% in TYH; 7.6%; 14.0%, and 43.7% in MGL; 3.9%; 13.2%, and 30.7% among males, and 6.5%; 12.4%, and 42.4% among females. Sixteen (2.1%) persons reported previous history of stroke. Biochemical levels and other known factors associated with hypertension are also described in the study. Health education should include among others, education on taking treatment for hypertension regularly." |
| Author/creator: | | San Shwe, Ohnma, Kyu Kyu Than, Than Tun Sein, Aung Thu, Khin Maung Maung, May San Lwin and Hnin Lwin Tun |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | World Health Organisation: Regional Health Forum WHO South-East Asia Region Volume 8 Number 1, 2004 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 April 2008 |
|
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Substance abuse
Individual Documents
| Title: | | "Health Messenger" Issue 40 -- Non-Communicable Diseases |
| Date of publication: | | September 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | TABLE OF CONTENTS:
NCD DEFINITION and RISK FACTORS...
STROKE...
ASTHMA vs. COPD...
DIABETES MELLITUS...
EPIGASTRIC PAIN...
CANCER...
ALCOHOL USE DISORDER |
| Language: | | Burmese, English |
| Source/publisher: | | Aide Medicale Internationale (AMI) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.1MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 January 2011 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar Country Advocacy Brief Injecting Drug Use and HIV |
| Date of publication: | | 04 February 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Myanmar is one of the few countries in East Asia that has reported a decrease in the overall
prevalence of HIV in recent years. Estimates indicate that HIV prevalence peaked at about 0.9%
(15-49%). By 2007, the estimated prevalence was 0.7% (range: 0.4-1.1%).....
Myanmar remains the second largest opium
poppy growing country after Afghanistan,
contributing 20% of opium poppy cultivation
in major cultivating countries in 2008.3 Heroin
use has become widespread and is the
primary drug of choice among people who
inject drugs. While the use of heroin and
opium has been observed to be declining in
recent years, the use of methamphetamine
has been increasing since 2003. Injecting of
amphetamine type stimulants has also been
reported to occur, as well as injecting of a
mixture of opiates and pharmaceutical
drugs. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNAIDS, UNODC |
| Format/size: | | pdf (255.94 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 05 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Substance Abuse, Drugs and Addictions: Guidebook |
| Date of publication: | | September 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "Substance abuse refers to the harmful or
hazardous use of psychoactive substances, including
alcohol and illicit drugs. It can also be
simply defined as a pattern of harmful use of
any substance for mood-altering purposes.
Generally, when most people talk about
substance abuse, they are referring to the use
of illegal drugs. But illegal drugs are not the
only substances that can be abused. Alcohol,
prescribed medications, inhalants and even
coffee and cigarettes, can be used to harmful
excess.
Substance abuse can lead to dependence
syndrome - a cluster of behavioural, cognitive,
and physiological phenomena that develop
after repeated use including a strong desire
to take the drug, persisting in its use despite
harmful consequences, increased tolerance,
and a physical withdrawal state.
In this guidebook, based upon the situation
in our community, we present the most
common substances that are often abused,
how they are used, their street names, and
their intoxicating and health effects.".....CONTENTS:- Part I:
Alcohol...
Amphetamine, Yaba, Ecstasy...
Benzodiazepines...
Betel Nut and Betal Leaf (Kwan-ya)...
Cannabis...
Cocaine - (Crack)...
Codeine...
Heroin...
Volatile Substance or Inhalants ...
Methadone...
Opium...
Tobacco.....
PART II:-
General Views of Substance Abuse...
Chronic Effects of Alcoholism...
Management in Substance Abuse Overdose...
Psycho-Counselling for Substance Abuse. |
| Language: | | English, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Aide Médicale Internationale, UNHCR |
| Format/size: | | pdf (13MB - reduced version; 15 MB - original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/DrugGuidebook-LowReso-red.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 September 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Living Ghosts The spiraling repression of the Karenni population by the Burmese military junta_ Chapter 6: Drugs |
| Date of publication: | | 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Chapter Overview: Farmers are turning to illegal drug cultivation as a way to escape extreme poverty thrust upon them by the relentless civil war. As the situation in Karenni State worsens, more and more farmers will turn to poppy cultivation and the more secure future it promises. Whilst the income that farmers can earn from drugs is significantly higher than from other crops, they remain vulnerable to economic hardships, exploitation and abuses from the Burmese military regime and non-state actors. Furthermore, the increased drug production has led to increased drug abuse amongst the Karenni people, in two districts 35 per cent of males are using opium. This adds pressure to an already inadequate health system while eroding the fragile social fabric of the Karenni people.
In this chapter:
* Types of drugs produced in Karenni State
* Why villagers are producing drugs
* Eradication Programmes
* Social Problems |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Issue |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/livingghosts.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Poisoned Flowers: The Impacts of Spiraling Drug Addiction on Palaung Women in Burma, |
| Date of publication: | | 09 June 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | "'Poisoned Flowers: The Impacts of Spiraling Drug Addiction on Palaung
Women in Burma', based on interviews with eighty-eight wives and mothers of drug
addicts, shows how women in Palaung areas have become increasingly vulnerable due
to the rising addiction rates. Already living in dire poverty, with little access to
education or health care, wives of addicts must struggle single-handedly to support as
many as ten children.
Addicted husbands not only stop providing for their families, but also sell off property
and possessions, commit theft, and subject their wives and children to repeated verbal
and physical abuse. The report details cases of women losing eight out of eleven
children to disease and of daughters being trafficked by their addicted father.
The increased addiction rates have resulted from the regime allowing drug lords to
expand production into Palaung areas in recent years, in exchange for policing against
resistance activity and sharing drug profits. The collapse of markets for tea and other
crops has driven more and more farmers to turn to opium growing or to work as
labourers in opium fields, where wages are frequently paid in opium.
The report throws into question claims by the regime and the UNODC of a dramatic
reduction of opium production in Burma during the past decade, and calls on donor
countries and UN agencies supporting drug eradication programs in Burma to push
for genuine political reform..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf (632K), Word (360K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.womenofburma.org/Report/PoisonedFlowers.pdf
http://www.womenofburma.org/Report/PoisonedFlowers.doc |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 June 2006 |
|
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Physical injuries
-
Accidents at work
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Thailand: Discrimination Against Burmese Migrants |
| Date of publication: | | 09 June 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | On 4th December 2006, Nang Noom Mae Seng, a 37-year old Shan migrant worker from Burma, was left paralysed after being struck by a 300 kilogram mould at her worksite. Her official compensation claim was rejected by Thailand’s SSO. This was because she could not satisfy conditions for access to the WCF laid down in a 2001 SSO circular, requiring that: (1) Workers must possess a passport or alien registration documents; and (2) Their employers must have paid a dividend into the WCF. These conditions make it generally impossible for Burmese migrants to access the WCF. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Asian Human Rights Commission |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 04 November 2010 |
|
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Restricted access to essential resources
-
Restricted access to adequate food
-
Food safety
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Melamine, Chemical Dyes—What’s the Next Poison to Spike Burmese Food? |
| Date of publication: | | June 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "FIRST it was the melamine scandal, in which a harmful chemical was found in milk and dairy products sold in Burmese stores. Then came the pickled tea scandal, also involving chemical additives—followed by a similar scare over tainted shrimp paste. Burmese consumers are having an increasingly difficult time finding risk-free foodstuffs in the markets these days..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 3 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 June 2009 |
|
| Title: | | CURRENT STATUS OF PESTICIDES RESIDUE ANALYSIS OF FOOD IN RELATION WITH FOOD SAFETY |
| Date of publication: | | 30 January 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | FAO/WHO Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators
Marrakech, Morocco, 28 - 30 January 2002
"Being a developing agricultural country at least in a foreseeable future, Myanmar is inevitable the use of pesticides in agriculture food production although other parallel efforts of non-chemical nature are being endeavoured in pest control strategies. Although there is a low pesticide consumption rate in Mayanmar, the present data indicates the urgent need of a cautious control in the use through coordination and cooperation of various government agencies and the people themselves. In addition, agricultural pesticides use in the country is expected to be increased with the abrupt change of cropping pattern for high rice production and extension of various crops grown areas.
The use of agro-chemical on food crops is estimated about 80% of the total. At that time the use of organo-chlorine insecticides (oc's) is decreasing but the percentage of those pesticides is total (about 10%) is still high. The use of pyrethroids is increasing..." |
| Author/creator: | | Mya Thwin, Thet Thet Mar |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | FAO, WHO |
| Format/size: | | html,pdf (27.14 KB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/004/ab429e.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
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Retricted access to health information
Individual Documents
| Title: | | FATAL SILENCE? Freedom of Expression and the Right to Health in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | July 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | The Online Burma Library contains two versions of this 1996 report -- in html with added URLs of references not available online in 1996 and a Word version, without these additions, which keeps, so far as possible, the format of the hard copy.
"Censorship has long concealed a multitude of grave issues in Burma (Myanmar. After decades of governmental secrecy and isolation, Burma was dramatically thrust into world headlines during the short-lived democracy uprising in the summer of 1988. But, while international concern and pressure has since continued to mount over the country's long-standing political crisis, the health and humanitarÂian consequences of over 40 years of political malaise and ethnic conÂflict have largely been neglected. Indeed, in many parts of the country, they remain totally unaddressed.
There are many elements involved in addressing the health criÂsis which now besets Burma's peoples. A fundamental aspect, in ARTICLE 19's view, is for the rights to freedom of expression and information, together with the right to democratic participation, to be ensured. In a context of censorship and secrecy, individuals cannot make informed decisions on important matters affecting their health. Without freedom of academic research and the ability to disseminate research findings, there can be no informed public debate. Denial of research and information also makes effective health planning and provision less likely at the national level. Without local participation, founded on freedom of expression and access to information, the health needs of many sections of society are likely to remain unaddressed. Likewise, secrecy and censorship have a negative impact on the work of international humanitarian agencies..." |
| Author/creator: | | Martin Smith |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Article 19 |
| Format/size: | | html (1.1MB), Word (589K), pdf |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.article19.org/pdfs/publications/burma-fatal-silence-.pdf
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/FATAL-SILENCE.doc |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 July 2003 |
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