Public Health
Individual Documents
Description:
"Myanmar’s minister of health and sports said on Tuesday that the government plans to set up an emergency fund of 300 million kyats (US$206,000) to use in tackling the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
Health and Sports Minister Dr. Myint Htwe told the Lower House on Tuesday that the fund will support the ministry’s arrangements to prevent, protect against and treat the coronavirus. The minister said the fund will be used for equipment, medicines, laboratories and protective gear in intensive care units that treat infected patients.
The minister also said that Myanmar will soon be able to do the lab tests to detect the coronavirus, as the ministry’s National Health Laboratory will soon receive reagents needed to conduct the tests. Thailand, Japan and the US have donated the reagents needed for about 350 tests. Currently, Myanmar has to send nasal swabs from tests to the World Health Organization (WHO) reference lab in Thailand.
“The regents will arrive tomorrow and our lab will be trained so that hopefully, our lab will be ready by Feb. 20,” said the minister at the Parliament session in Naypyitaw on Tuesday. The minister also said that the results from the National Health Laboratory will still be double-checked with the WHO reference lab to ensure accurate results..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar can identify 2019 novel coronavirus in its own lab from February 21, said Dr Pike Htwe, Union Minister for Health and Sports in a parliament session held on February 11.
He replied to a question raised by MP Dr Sein Mya Aye of Dala Constituency whether the ministry has plans to prevent the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus and to have fewer deaths if the infectious disease is reached to Myanmar.
“The 2019 novel coronavirus can identify in Myanmar soon. We can test about 100 times in a reference lab in Thailand and 250 times in a reference lab in United States. Chief of the Asia Pacific will come to provide training in related with the coronavirus test,” he said.
Although Myanmar can identify the virus starting from February 21, it is not late as there are 15 labs including labs in China, Japan, Germany, Thailand, Singapore, India, France and Russia which can identify the virus, he added..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-12
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"Two companies from Myanmar donated a batch of disposable masks to China to bolster its efforts to combat the novel coronavirus.
A total of 36,000 disposable masks were handed over by Young Insurance and Htoo Thit to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar.
"The Chinese government has done a very good job fighting the outbreak. I wish the medical staff working the front line are healthy and hope they can overcome the virus as soon as possible," said Thiha Aung, chairman of Young Insurance.
Zaw Lin, director of Htoo Thit, said, "Our aim is to help as much as we can to encourage our neighbor."
"Our embassy plans to send these donations to the areas which are in need without delay," Li Xiaoyan, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Myanmar, told Xinhua, adding that these donations showed the deep "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between the two peoples..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-02-11
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar’s largest private-sector airline said the novel coronavirus outbreak is likely to have an impact on its operations until April.
The airline, Myanmar Airways International-Air KBZ Group, has temporarily suspended all routes to mainland China as well as Taiwan, Commercial Director Tanes Kumar said in an interview.
“We had to shift some priorities within our strategy due to the virus outbreak,” he said, adding that once China flights resume the carrier should be able to make up the losses expected in the first four months of the year. Read More: Myanmar Expects 5 Million Tourists in 2020 Despite Virus Fears
Kumar said the airline will continue to invest in fleet expansion and that its goal is to become a “local champion” like VietJet in Vietnam or Lion Air in Indonesia..."
Source/publisher:
"Bloomberg News" (New York)
Date of publication:
2020-02-09
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"An additional 66 cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed on a cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama, Japan, raising the total number to 136, the ship’s captain told passengers on Monday.
Japan’s health ministry has not publicly confirmed the sharp rise in cases. The ministry has announced new cases almost daily since the quarantine began a week ago, and the increase reported by the captain on Monday was the largest yet.
The outbreak on the ship, the Diamond Princess, which has been docked at the Yokohama port since Monday, is the largest outside China. About 3,700 people, including about 2,600 passengers and more than 1,000 crew members, are quarantined on the ship, with passengers largely confined to their cabins.
Passengers have grown increasingly fearful that the quarantine is putting them in jeopardy. The Japanese authorities have tested a few hundred people for the coronavirus who were believed to be at particular risk, but as the number of cases has risen, some passengers have pressed for everyone on board to be screened..."
Source/publisher:
"The New York Times" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-02-10
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"As the coronavirus outbreak in China continues to spread, having infected over 24,000 people so far, scientists around the world are racing to find a treatment. Most of the people infected with the new coronavirus, dubbed 2019-nCov, have not received a treatment specific to that virus — because there isn't one.
In fact, none of the handful of coronaviruses known to infect humans has an approved treatment, and people who are infected typically receive care mainly to help relieve symptoms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, a handful of repurposed drugs, from drugs targeting Ebola to HIV, have already shown promise, according to new findings. Until recently, there were very few effective antivirals, said Stephen Morse, a professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. That was especially true for RNA viruses — like 2019-nCov and HIV — which use RNA, rather than DNA, as their genetic material, Morse said.
That's changing.
"In recent years, perhaps encouraged by the successful development of HIV anti-virals, which proved it might be feasible to do more, our armamentarium has greatly expanded," Morse said. Even so, developing brand-new drugs requires a huge investment of both time and resources, he added. So "while you're waiting for the new miracle drug, it's worthwhile looking for existing drugs that could be repurposed" to treat new viruses, Morse told Live Science..."
Source/publisher:
Life Science
Date of publication:
2020-02-06
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
As Death Toll From Virus Grows, More Chinese Voice Anger, Coronavirus Death Toll Surpasses That of SARS Epidemic, Q&A: How the Coronavirus Differs From the Flu and SARS
Description:
"Myanmar police have apprehended and returned to Chinese authorities one of five people from the city of Wuhan, center of the deadly, fast-spreading coronavirus, who slipped across the porous border between the two nations earlier this week.
The only woman in the group tested negative for the virus and was repatriated on Thursday. No information is available regarding what happened to her upon arriving in China. Her compatriots remain at large, according to police in Myanmar.
Her return came a day after police in the border town of Ruili in Yunnan Province notified the chief of police in Myanmar’s Muse District to be on the lookout for four men and a woman “more than likely [carrying] the new coronavirus pneumonia,” according to a letter dated February 5, and obtained by VOA Burmese.
On Friday, a Muse police officer, who did not want to be named, told VOA, “We are still in pursuit of four missing Chinese. … Yesterday, we looked for those five missing Chinese soon after we received notification and found one woman in Muse. After health workers from both our side and Chinese side checked, she was found to be in good health..."
Source/publisher:
"VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Government looking to drum up trade with Singapore and Laos as exports to China dry up
Description:
"Myanmar is losing the equivalent of $16 million a day in border trade with China because of the coronavirus outbreak, a senior official from the commerce ministry has said.
Exports to China dropped by $160m between January 27 and February 5 at border trade areas in Shan and Kachin states, commerce secretary Khin Maung Lwin told Myanmar Now.
Trade has dried up because buyers inside China are unable to reach the border due to travel restrictions aimed at curbing the virus, said Dr Thet Lwin Oo, Director of the Myanmar International Trade Center.
Meanwhile Myanmar traders are having their Chinese visas denied, said Sein Win Hlaing, chairman of the Myanmar Rice Producers Association.
Trade at the border is worth over $500 million a month, government figures show.
Between October and January, China imported $1.4 billion worth of goods from Myanmar and exported $680 million worth.
Khin Maung Lwin said that as there were now no buyers on the Chinese side, the ministry is looking for new export markets..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Border Trade with China, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"Intent on preventing an outbreak of the coronavirus in Myanmar, local officials and members of ethnic armed organizations, or EAOs, along the border with China have imposed travel restrictions, increased health checks, called for monitoring of Chinese workers and, in some areas, imposed fines.
The border area — known for its rugged terrain beyond the government's control, enterprising smugglers, and long-simmering ethnic wars — concerns health authorities due to lax checkpoint controls.
The measures in Myanmar by both the government and EAOs are being enacted as the number of deaths continue to increase in China, where coronavirus 2019-nCoV was first identified in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.
According to the government, there are no confirmed cases or deaths in Myanmar. However, the swift spread of the not fully understood virus has alarmed many, leaving officials to quell rumors born of fear and long-held anti-Chinese sentiment..."
Source/publisher:
"VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of publication:
2020-02-07
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"Some airlines continue to fly between Myanmar and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Kunming of China though most of airlines have temporarily suspended their flight operations in a bid to contain the coronavirus in China, according to the statement by the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar on 6 February.
There are 12 airlines flying between Yangon and China. Eight out of 12 airlines have suspended their flight operations between Myanmar and China. The remaining four airlines continue their flight operations.
Air China operates Yangon-Beijing schedule every Friday, China Eastern, Yangon-Shanghai, Yangon-Kunming and Mandalay-Kunming schedules, China Southern Airlines, Yangon- Guangzhou and Sichuan Airlines, Mandalay-Kunming schedule.
The State-owned Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) and the private-owned Myanmar Airways International (MAI) also suspended their flight operations between Yangon and China.
Most airlines have halted their flight operations till the end of February. Airport Health Quarantine Team is monitoring passengers using WHO-recognized Infrared Thermal scanners..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
more
Topic:
Myanmar , Crab , Exports , China , Virus
Topic:
Myanmar , Crab , Exports , China , Virus
Description:
"Thousands of workers from crab wholesale centres from the Labutta township are now out of their jobs after China suspended its crab imports from Myanmar due to the spread of novel coronavirus in China.
The suspension of crab exports to China has huge impacts on workers and the crab industry in the township. Crab is one of the major exports of Labutta Township, and it may have an impact on those involved in the whole industry.
The price of crab declined to around Ks5,000 (RM14) per kilo from around Ks15,000 (RM43)per kilo after China stopped importing crabs from Myanmar.
U Win Naing, Chair of the Labutta Crab Entrepreneurs Association said: “Due to the closure of border gates, we cannot ship crabs to China. We mainly export crabs to China. There are 130 crab wholesale centres in Labutta.”
Labutta township exports more than ten tonnes of crabs to China every day. Most people in the rural areas rely only on crab fishing. - Eleven Media Group/Asia News Network..."
Source/publisher:
"The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of publication:
2020-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Border Trade with China, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Amid the coronavirus outbreak and panic, over 60 countries suspend flights to China
Description:
"228 Taiwanese tourists are trapped in Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay, as the government suddenly suspends flights to Taiwan from the city, citing the escalating novel coronavirus outbreak.
Taipei-based Far East International Tourism Group told local media outlets on Tuesday (Feb. 4) that 228 Taiwanese tourists traveling in Myanmar have been told their return flights set for Feb. 8 have been canceled.
There are two air carriers operating flights between Taiwan and Myanmar. Taipei-based China Airlines operates flights between Taipei Taoyuan Intl. Airport and Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, and Myanmar Airways runs flights between Taipei Taoyuan and Mandalay, which just began operations last month. Far East International Tourism Group is responsible for tickets sales on behalf of Myanmar Airways in Taiwan.
Media report that flights to Yangon remain normal, and only flights to Mandalay have been halted without prior notice. No further information about when Mandalay will resume flights to Taiwan was immediately available..."
Source/publisher:
"Taiwan News" (Taiwan)
Date of publication:
2020-02-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Three Chinese nationals and one Myanmar citizen suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus tested negative for the deadly disease that has already killed 566 people in the month since it began in neighbouring China.
Description:
"The Ministry of Health and Sports said Thailand’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) found no sign of the flu-like virus in nasopharyngeal swabs taken from the four patients. "We are still monitoring them,” said Dr Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director of Contagious Disease Prevention and Eradication for the Department of Public Health. “We are giving them proper treatment and they are attended by well-trained medical staff. They are all in good health.”
The four patients include a one-year-old girl from Sichuan province being treated at Kyaingtong Hospital in Shan State, a 15-year-old Taiwanese boy being treated at Waibargi Hospital in Yangon, a two-year-old Myanmar girl being treated at Loikaw Hospital in Kayah State, and a 29-year-old Chinese man from Guangzhou being treated at Nay Pyi Taw Hospital.Earlier on Monday, a Chinese man suspected of suffering from new coronavirus was discharged from a Yangon hospital after tests showed he did not have the disease.
The man was taken to Waibargi Hospital with a fever on Friday after arriving at Yangon International Airport on a China Southern Airlines flight from Guangzhou.
The ministry said it is monitoring six people across the country who have exhibited signs of coronavirus, including a 38-year-old man in Minbya township in Rakhine State, and a 45-year-old man in Namtu township in Shan.
The ministry has sent nasopharyngeal swabs of the six to the NIH for diagnosis, and vowed to provide daily updates on the disease, which has afflicted nearly 30,000 people in China and elsewhere..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-06
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Migrant workers returning to Myanmar from China’s Yunnan province because of coronavirus fears are walking away from their jobs without receiving the pay owed to them, as their Chinese employers try to discourage them from leaving, sources say.
Nearly 1,000 have crossed the border at Myanmar’s Chinshwehaw town since Jan. 28, with around 350 crossing each day at Laukkaing, both in Myanmar’s Kokang Self-Administered Zone, sources say, adding that most had been employed in chili and eggplant plantations in remote areas of Yunnan.
Some are leaving without receiving their salary or money they have saved, because their bosses do not want them to leave, a resident of Yesagyo, a town in Myanmar’s Magway Division near the border, told RFA’s Myanmar Service in an interview.
Others are meanwhile unable to leave, Ma San New Htay said.
“The bosses do not give them their full wages, or control their passports, IDs, or other documents. That’s why some workers cannot return home, even though they want to leave,” she said.
Also speaking to RFA, one returned worker said that many are now leaving China despite employers’ attempts to hold them back..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-02-05
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
" All 59 Myanmar students from Wuhan quarantined in Kantawnadi Hospital in Mandalay are still in good health, said Dr Ye Lwin, Mayor of Mandalay.
“They are in good health and we are still monitoring their situation till 14 days,” said Dr Ye Lwin, who is also a chairman of the Surveillance and Response Team (SRT).
A total of 59 out of 63 Myanmar students from Wuhan arrived back in Mandalay on February 2 and four remained in Wuhan as their body temperatures are high.
“All students are not infected and they stayed in hostels of universities in Wuhan. They have not been ill since 14 days ago. If one of them got ill, we will move him or her to the isolation ward in Mandalay general hospital. We are following the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Mandalay residents need not to be worried too much,” wrote Dr Ye Lwin in his Facebook page..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-05
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
" Myanmar’s travel agents have been further hit by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism’s suspension of visas-on-arrival for Chinese tourists and demands that tour operators cancel Chinese trips to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The ministry canceled visas-on-arrival for Chinese visitors on Saturday and on Monday instructed tour operators to suspend all travel services for Chinese tourists and tours from China.
By ZARNI MANN 4 February 2020
Yangon – Myanmar’s travel agents have been further hit by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism’s suspension of visas-on-arrival for Chinese tourists and demands that tour operators cancel Chinese trips to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The ministry canceled visas-on-arrival for Chinese visitors on Saturday and on Monday instructed tour operators to suspend all travel services for Chinese tourists and tours from China.
The move followed the announcement by the World Health Organization that the coronavirus outbreak was a global emergency.
“We have to cancel all of the booked tours for February and the remaining tours are at risk until the end of the peak season. Operations have completely stopped for small travel agencies that only handle Chinese tours,” said a tour operator from Yangon, who asked not to be named.
Myanmar had been expecting to receive more Chinese tourists this season than in previous years.
“We received twice as many Chinese bookings than last year. We pray the coronavirus can be controlled,” the travel agent said. Myanmar received more than 300,000 Chinese tourists in 2018 and more than 750,000 in 2019, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-02-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, Tourism - descriptive/analytical, critical - global, Tourism in Burma - articles and studies, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"Six ASEAN countries have been on the list of the countries hit by novel coronavirus infection issued by World Health Organization, but Myanmar is still excluded.
According to WHO figures available on February 3 morning, there are 14,557 lab-confirmed cases across the world—14,411 in China including 14 in Hong Kong, 7 in Macao and 10 in Taiwan. Of those confirmed cases, 2,110 are in serious condition. A total of 304 people died in China and one in the Philippines. The one who died in the Philippines had close contact with a confirmed patient. Apart from China, 23 countries are hit by coronavirus and ASEAN countries include Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines.
According to WHO, China remains at a very high danger level while other affected countries are at a high level.
Previously, WHO defined novel coronavirus suspects as having fever, coughing, need for hospitalization and a history of visit to Wuhan 14 days ago and health staff or those having close contact with the confirmed patients. As for February 1, a history of visit to Wuhan has been changed to a history of visit to China.
"Although infection is transmitted from human to human in China, WHO has regarded it as limited human to human transmission only. This is because infection is found in family members and health workers who have close contact with patients. This means that health workers should also stay alert to the infection," said Dr Khin Khin Gyi, deputy director of the Central Infection Disease Control Department under the Public Health Department..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-04
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Chinese, coronavirus, Hospital, patient, quarantine, released, suspected case, virus-free
Topic:
Chinese, coronavirus, Hospital, patient, quarantine, released, suspected case, virus-free
Description:
"A 56-year-old Chinese man who quarantined in Yangon on Friday on suspicion of carrying the coronavirus after arriving on a flight from Guangzhou has been released from the hospital after his symptoms cleared up and test results showed him to be virus-free, according to Myanmar’s Health Ministry.
The man had been under observation in an isolation ward at a communicable disease hospital in northern Yangon since Friday. The Ministry of Health and Sports announced in a statement on Monday that lab tests conducted in Thailand on samples taken from the man’s nose and throat showed he was negative for the new coronavirus.
“His health condition is improving. So, he was discharged from the hospital,” the hospital said.
The statement added that two Myanmar nationals on the same flight as the Chinese man who had also been quarantined were also released, as they were in good health.
So far, the virus has killed 361 people in China. The number of infections has increased to 2,829 while the number of suspected cases has topped 20,000, China’s National Health Commission said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-02-03
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"A total of 153 Myanmar migrant workers arrived back in Muse on the evening of 1 February due to the mounting fears of Wuhan coronavirus in China.
The returnees went home asking for the help from Myanmar Counsel Office in China.
A worker said: “Normally, the trip to Ruli-Kyalkhaung takes about one hour. Chinese authorities have restricted travels from region to region. We arrived at Myanmar border gate at 10 pm.”
Normally, Nandaw China-Myanmar border checkpoint is closed at 8.30 pm.
U Thaung Tun from Muse Philanthropic Organization said: “They returned to Myanmar due to the virus fears. Chinese employers are unable to return to their factories and plantations as they go home during the Chinese New Year. That’s why, workers face a shortage of food. Some workers got salaries while other did not get their salaries. Employers deduct an advance payment of 1,000 Chinese Yuan as the workers go home before the completion of work.”
Myanmar migrants are from Lashio, Taunggyi, Kantbalu, Monywa and Butalin Townships. More workers are planning to go home.
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-03
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"News Update: 59 out of 63 Myanmar students stranded in the novel coronavirus-stricken Chinese city of Wuhan arrived back at Mandalay International Airport this morning. They were transported to Kandawnadi hospital in Mandalay for medical screening. They are being quarantined at the hospital.
Four students remain there as one is not in conformity with the immigration rules, one is present outside the province and two others have high body temperatures, according to the statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-02-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Yet another flight has been turned back to China due to suspicions that a passenger had contracted coronavirus. Today, Myanmar turned a China Southern flight back to China after a passenger was found to have flu-like symptoms. As the virus spreads, so do the stories of flight disruptions and delays. The latest update shows that a flight from Guangzhou in China was returned to its origin with almost all passengers still on board.
A Chinese national disembarked in Yangon, Myanmar, and was immediately sent to a hospital. It has been reported that two Myanmar citizens also disembarked and will be isolated at home for two weeks. Although no official cases of coronavirus have been reported in Myanmar, or on the flight, all of the other passengers were forced to remain on the plane and were flown back to China. According to airport officials, there were a total of 79 people on board including the two Myanmar citizens who were allowed to disembark, two American, two French, a Colombian and 72 Chinese nationals, all but one of whom were forced to return to China. The flight left China on Friday Morning, arriving in Myanmar at 10.40 local time. The plane was then returned to China landing at 19.34 local time, almost three hours late. The Airbus A319 twin-jet aircraft was being operated by China Southern Airlines..."
Source/publisher:
Simple Flying
Date of publication:
2020-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"(This article will be updated continuously. It was originally published on January 28, 2020. It was last updated on February 1, 2020)
Due to the developing situation in China and Asia concerning the Wuhan Coronavirus, we will be operating this article as a running live update service to keep businesses involved in the ASEAN region updated with the latest relevant regional news. Note the potential for cases to rise in Thailand and Vietnam, given their popularity and ease of access by Chinese nationals over the Lunar New Year festivities is of particular concern. India also appears to be at risk..."
Source/publisher:
"ASEAN Briefing"
Date of publication:
2020-02-01
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, ASEAN-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Male Chinese passenger on flight from Guangzhou, China showing coronavirus symptoms rushed to hospital, say officials
Description:
"A Chinese visitor in Myanmar suspected of having the coronavirus was hospitalized on Friday in the city of Yangon, according to officials.
A China Southern Airlines flight carrying 79 passengers arrived in Yangon from Guangzhou, China.
A 56-year-old male Chinese passenger was found to have symptoms related to the virus and was taken to the hospital, according to Soe Paing, the general manager of Yangon International Airport.
"Authorities haven't allowed the other 78 passengers to disembark the plane," he told Anadolu Agency.
According to the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), only two Myanmar passengers will be allowed to disembark the plane.
"The rest won't be allowed to enter the country," said a DCA director who asked not to be named as he is not a spokesperson of the department.
"They will be taken back to China with the same flight," he told Anadolu Agency. Myanmar health authorities said there had been no coronavirus cases in the country even as the coronavirus outbreak worsened.
As of Jan. 31, a total of 9,810 coronavirus cases have been seen in 23 countries worldwide, 99% of them in China..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of publication:
2020-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Passenger with symptoms quarantined in Yangon but full China Southern jet sent home
Description:
" Authorities in Myanmar turned back a China Southern flight from Guangzhou with almost everyone on board on Friday after one of the passengers was found with flu symptoms similar to the fast-spreading coronavirus, a government spokesman said.
The plane arrived in the commercial capital Yangon and the passenger, a Chinese national, was sent to a hospital in the city where he will be quarantined, said government spokesman Zaw Htay.
Two Myanmar nationals who also disembarked have agreed to isolate themselves in their homes for 14 days, he told reporters at a press conference.
The plane returned to Gaungzhou with everyone else on board.
Myanmar has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which first emerged in China’s central province of Hubei and has infected almost 10,000 people since, mostly in and around Hubei..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2020-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The Myanmar Embassy in Beijing said it hopes to send back home 63 students stranded in China’s Wuhan city as early as Saturday.
Description:
"The Myanmar Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it is arranging a charter flight to bring the 63 students who are studying in Wuhan back to Myanmar.
Myanmar is negotiating with China to allow the students’ evacuation, the statement added.
The Health Ministry said it will quarantine and screen the students upon their arrival in the country. The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose to 170 on Thursday as foreigners in the worst-hit region in China began returning home under close observation.Foreign tourists are cancelling bookings with Myanmar tour companies as coronavirus spreads around the globe, tour operators said Sunday.
U Myo Yee, of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association in Mandalay, said cancellations have come from several countries, not just China, where the outbreak of the disease started earlier this month.
He said the cancellation rate was between 10 percent and 20pc, and he expected a decrease in tourist arrivals as some Chinese airlines had cancelled flights to the country.
State Counsellor chides protesters
State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi rebuked students who were protesting against a plan to lengthen the school year at an event in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday.
The students stood up and unfurled placards to protest the one-month extension while she was speaking at a seminar on improving education in the country.
She said that kind of ceremony should not be exploited by a person or group to air their grievances, and that everyone has rights as well as responsibilities..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Every minute, 17 people die of cancer somewhere in the world with more than half of these deaths in the most deprived parts of the world. As World Cancer Day approaches on 4th February, we have an opportunity to make ourselves aware of the risks and the steps we can take to help prevent premature deaths and suffering from cancer. The World Health Organisation’s ‘I can. We can’ campaign this year is a reminder that we can all play a part.
Description:
"Between 30 and 50 percent of all cancers are preventable if people avoid exposure to risk factors.
Tobacco – whether smoked, chewed or inhaled passively – is the biggest of these risk factors, responsible for a vast number of deaths froom lung, mouth, stomach, cervical and other cancers. Approximately 65,000 people die from tobacco-related diseases in Myanmar every year highlighting the need for urgent action to reduce its use. Obesity, alcohol excess and sedentary living are among other lifestyle choices which put us at greater risk of developing cancer.
Certain infections are also associated with cancers. Some of these such as Hepatitis B, which can cause liver cancer and the human papilloma virus (which in turn can cause cervical cancer), can be prevented by widespread use of vaccines.
The environment and us
Environmental pollution particularly from chemicals in the air are a significant risk factor in the urban setting in Myanmar. In rural areas the risk is greater from household air pollution from cooking with solid fuels such as wood and coal.
According to the World Bank, poor air quality contributed to an estimated 45,000 deaths in Myanmar in just one year, higher than the average for Southeast Asia. Other risk factors in our environment include exposure to radiation and chemicals such as asbestos in our home or work settings..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Debilitating mosquito-borne diseases pose an increasing threat to migrant workers and refugees just across the border in Thailand, where clinics running on dwindling foreign aid struggle to meet needs.
Description:
"IN 2019, more than 1.3 million people in Southeast Asia were infected with dengue fever. The cyclical epidemic was exacerbated by poor state health infrastructure and constraints on access, as well as climate change and the increased movement of goods and people.
In this context, and despite declining foreign aid, non-government clinics along the Thai-Myanmar border have been at the forefront of regional efforts to contain dengue and chikungunya, another mosquito-borne virus that has spread northwards from Thailand’s deep south.
These diseases impose a particularly heavy burden on poor migrant households.
“This year, me, my children, everyone has had dengue fever or chikungunya, and sometimes both,” said Mr A. Salam, director of MAP Foundation, a grassroots non-government organisation that defends Myanmar workers’ rights and is based in the Thai border city of Mae Sot, opposite Myanmar’s Myawaddy. Support more independent journalism like this. Sign up to be a Frontier member.
Mae Sot is one of the main points of entry for the estimated 3-4 million Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand. In the factories and fields around Mae Sot, about half of the estimated 100,000 Myanmar workers are working illegally and options for affordable health care are sparse, said Salam..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-30
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Dengue, Health of migrants from Burma
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar expects to achieve its target of attracting five million tourists in 2020, even as fears about the deadly coronavirus that originated in China cast a long shadow over the travel industry.
"We're well-prepared to prevent an outbreak of this virus," Maung Maung Kyaw, head of the directorate of hotels and tourism, said in an interview, citing coordination with the Health Ministry on a plan of action.
The new coronavirus has killed more than 100 people in China and sickened thousands. Asia's top economy has suspended outbound group tours to try and prevent the spread of the disease, denting the outlook for regional tourism.
"We've been screening for the disease at all international gateways," Mr Maung Maung Kyaw said in the capital, Naypyidaw. Myanmar received 4.4 million visitors last year, a 23 per cent climb from 2018 powered by surging Asian arrivals, according to government data. The number of Chinese tourists more than doubled..."
Source/publisher:
"The Business Times" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2020-01-28
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tourism - descriptive/analytical, critical - global, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, Public Health
Language:
more
Sub-title:
The Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry plans to introduce a system to examine all deaths of children under 18, in principle, for the purpose of preventing children dying from abuse or accidents, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Description:
"The system will be called Child Death Review (CDR) (see below) and the ministry intends to implement it across the country as early as fiscal 2022. Starting in April this year, the ministry will introduce the CDR system at five local governments as a model project. By reviewing all cases of child death, the ministry aims to find abuse and accident cases that child consultation centers and police have failed to identify, and make use of the results to prevent such cases recurring.
CDR is a framework in which children’s death certificates, measures taken by police, fire departments and child consultation centers, and other issues are examined from various viewpoints. The purpose is to prevent the recurrence of similar cases, rather than focusing on holding individuals and the relevant institutions and officials accountable, even when abuse or an accident is confirmed after the review.
According to the ministry, about 3,800 children under the age of 18 died in 2018. Of them, about 70 children, or 2%, were subject to government investigations as child abuse deaths.
However, a study group within the ministry collected and analyzed cases of the deaths of about 2,300 children under 18 from about 150 medical institutions nationwide for a period from 2014 to 2016. It found that 118 of those children were suspected to have died as a result of being abused, accounting for around 5% of the total. Based on this finding, the ministry expects other overlooked abuse cases will be exposed by using CDR to examine all child deaths..."
Source/publisher:
Eleven Media Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2020-01-18
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"In a ward at Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital (FYCH), a nurse comforted 2-year-old Khant Thurain Phyo with a toy car. His mother Zar Yi Myint was jollily making a video call with her husband and daughter back in Myanmar.
Khant Thurain Phyo, who had been diagnosed with serious congenital heart disease (CHD), arrived in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, with his mother a month ago, for free treatment sponsored by a rescue action plan under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The action plan was launched by the China Charity Federation, Yunnan Charity Federation and the FYCH in 2018 and has so far treated 15 Myanmar children with CHD.
Looking at her son who can now jump like a playful deer, the 28-year-old mother was grateful for the Chinese doctors. "They gave my child a second life."
"He was skinny at birth. He frequently suffered from difficulty breathing," the mother said.
When the diagnosis came out, the poor boy could only rely on medicine to stay alive due to inadequate medical conditions for surgery. But the high medical costs almost pushed the family to the brink of collapse.
Upon hearing the news that a hospital in neighboring Yunnan was willing to offer free treatment to children with severe CHD, the struggling family saw a glimmer of hope.
In 2018, a Chinese medical team arrived in Yonjin Children's Hospital in Myanmar's Rangoon. They checked 58 children diagnosed with CHD and took 15 seriously ill patients back to Kunming for treatment..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2020-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2020-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Red Cross Societies of China and Myanmar agreed on Friday to further strengthen cooperation in a meeting between officials from both sides.
Chen Zhu, vice president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and president of Red Cross Society of China, visited Myanmar and held a meeting with Tin Nyunt, acting president of Myanmar Red Cross Society.
The Red Cross Society of China will provide more assistance to Myanmar based on Myanmar's practical needs, and continue to support the country in carrying out community-centered health projects, said Chen.
Chen also acknowledged the achievements made by Myanmar Red Cross Society in areas including disaster relief, health service and community development, among others.
Tin Nyunt briefed Chen on the Myanmar Red Cross Society's works including the operation of mobile clinics in Rakhine state, and said Myanmar hoped that the two sides can further enhance cooperation..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-12-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations, Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"Eight Myanmar children suffering from congenital heart disease will receive free treatment in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
They have arrived at Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital (FYCH) thanks to a rescue action plan under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The action plan was launched by the China Charity Federation, Yunnan Charity Federation and the FYCH in 2017 and has so far treated 27 Myanmar children.
A total of 15 patients will be treated free of charge this time, and seven of them will come to China for treatment later.
"The age of the eight patients ranges from 13 months to 12 years old," said Myint Myint Khine, senior medical superintendent of Yankin Children Hospital in Myanmar.
There is a long wait in hospitals for patients with heart disease in Myanmar, and they are happy to have the chance of treatment in China, she added.
"We can't afford the high cost of treatment. We are very grateful to China for providing us free treatment," said Aye Myat Thuzar, a patient's mother..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-12-06
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"Eight Myanmar children suffering from congenital heart disease will receive free treatment in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
They have arrived at Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital (FYCH) thanks to a rescue action plan under the Belt and Road Initiative.
The action plan was launched by the China Charity Federation, Yunnan Charity Federation and the FYCH in 2017 and has so far treated 27 Myanmar children.
A total of 15 patients will be treated free of charge this time, and seven of them will come to China for treatment later.
"The age of the eight patients ranges from 13 months to 12 years old," said Myint Myint Khine, senior medical superintendent of Yankin Children Hospital in Myanmar.
There is a long wait in hospitals for patients with heart disease in Myanmar, and they are happy to have the chance of treatment in China, she added.
"We can't afford the high cost of treatment. We are very grateful to China for providing us free treatment," said Aye Myat Thuzar, a patient's mother..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-12-06
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Substance abuse, China-Burma relations
Language:
more
Description:
"The death toll of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) has surged to 123 across Myanmar in 11 months, said figures released by the Ministry of Health and Sports on Monday.
The Public Health Department under the ministry issued that 23,203 mosquito-borne disease infection cases were recorded in Myanmar's regions and states from Jan. 1 to Nov. 23 this year.
During the period, the DHF infection mostly occurred in Kachin state, Yangon, Ayeyarwady, Mandalay and Sagaing regions.
Of them, Kachin state topped with 4,222 infection cases and 30 deaths, followed by Yangon region with 2,804 cases and 33 deaths.
Children aged between five and nine years old were infected by the DHF the most, registering 9,264 infection cases, according to the ministry's Vector Borne Disease Control Programme..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-12-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Dengue, Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"Myanmar's health authorities are planning to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2025, according to a release from the Health and Sports Ministry on Monday.
Myint Htwe, union minister of health and sports, said that the HIV infection rate to pregnant women declined from 0.84 percent in 2011 to 0.57 percent in 2018, at the celebration of the World AIDS Day 2019 held on Sunday.
According to the statistical data of AIDS Epidemic Model-AEM, there were about 237,000 people living with HIV nationwide and its prevalence rate is at 0.57 percent in the country last year.
Numbers of HIV incidence dropped to over 10,000 in 2018, from 29,000 in 2000, said the ministry's release.
About 70 percent of HIV incidence occurred in key affected populations which include people who inject drugs, female sex workers and men who have sex with men..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-12-02
Date of entry/update:
2019-12-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"OUE Lippo Healthcare (OUELH) is venturing into Myanmar with stake acquisitions in two joint venture companies that own three hospitals, one medical centre and two clinics. This will give the company presence in the key cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Taunggyi, the subsidiary company of OUE Limited said on Thursday.
OUELH’s wholly owned units have signed a sale and purchase agreement with Waluya Graha Loka to acquire a 40 per cent stake in Yoma Siloam Hospital Pun Hlaing Limited (YSHPH), and a 35 per cent stake in Pun Hlaing International Hospital Limited (PHIH), for US$19.5 million in all.
The vendor is considered an associate of Stephen Riady, the non-independent, non-executive director of OUE Lippo Healthcare. It is also an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of property company Lippo Karawaci.
Both YSHPH and PHIH are joint venture companies with First Myanmar Investment (FMI), which is part of the enlarged Yoma Group that also comprises SGX-listed Yoma Strategic. FMI, which has businesses in real estate, health care, financial services, and tourism, is also the first company listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange..."
Source/publisher:
"The Business Times" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2019-01-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
more
Description:
"A Chinese pharmaceutical firm has won market approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration for a self-developed lymphoma drug, marking the first entry of an innovative cancer drug from a Chinese company into the US and giving a boost to domestic drugmakers’ ambitions to create new treatments for patients around the world.
The drug, known as Brukinsa, is a product from Beijing-based BeiGene. It received the FDA’s approval on Friday and will probably become available to US patients by the end of the year, Wu Xiaobin, BeiGene president, said at a news conference on Friday.
The application was accepted by the FDA in August, and approval came sooner than originally expected. In January, the drug was granted Breakthrough Therapy designation, an official status that speeds up review processes for drugs that may demonstrate substantial advantages over existing therapies, according to the FDA.
It was also the first time that such a beneficial policy was granted to a Chinese company, according to BeiGene..."
Source/publisher:
"Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-20
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, China-Burma-US relations
Language:
more
Topic:
Health
Topic:
Health
Description:
"Like it or not, daily decisions we make – from our methods of transportation, what clothes we buy, to the food and drinks we consume – directly impact the environment by contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and the production of harmful waste. Millions of people around the world, often led by school children and young people, recently took to the streets to protest widespread political inaction. Despite compelling evidence that the earth is warming at unprecedented levels, they were frustrated that nothing was happening in the world’s parliaments and company boardrooms.
Climate change is a health emergency as much as it is a global emergency with far reaching socio-economic and geo-political consequences. While global warming is poised to hit developing nations the hardest, these countries will also be the least prepared to cope with its consequences. Naturally, doctors around the world are adding their voices to the rising and compelling calls for action, in the hopes of saving more than a quarter of a million lives if our civilisation carries on ‘business as usual’. “Anthropocene”: Evidence continues to mount that human activities are leaving indelible marks on the planet leading it on a path of irreversible change. Some experts believe human activities have even ushered in a new geological epoch on earth, called the “Anthropocene” (anthropo, for “human,” and cene, for “new”) characterised by plastic pollution, mass animal extinctions and traces of radioactive substances dispersed across the earth from nuclear tests. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has produced reports detailing just how much more drastic and hazardous the effects would be if the earth warmed by 2 degrees, compared to 1.5 degrees, by 2030..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-11-15
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Climate Change - Migration Burma/Myanmar, Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general, The impact of climate change on the environment of Burma/Myanmar
Language:
more
Topic:
Nutrition, Malnutrition, Health, Myanmar
Topic:
Nutrition, Malnutrition, Health, Myanmar
Description:
"High up in the Thangmual Hills in north-western Myanmar’s Chin State, Nu Lun dreams of her seven-month-old daughter growing up to be strong and clever. Like most mothers, Nu Lun wants the best for her child, but she is unsure about the right way to feed her little one.
Nu Lun lives in a wooden cabin with her baby daughter, husband, mother-in-law and 12-year-old nephew. She buys rice and oil from the market, but most of the family’s food comes from their home garden and farm where her husband works.
To learn about nutrition, Nun Lun attends the local women’s group run by the auxiliary midwife in Tedim. Her mother-in-law also influences her, telling her the things her baby should and should not eat and how to prepare the food.
Nu Lun’s daughter often refuses to eat new foods, struggling with the textures and unable to swallow them. So Nu Lun finds herself reverting to giving her baby girl just breast milk and rice soup.
“They tell us about the extra foods we should give our baby, but my daughter spits them out. They are too coarse for her, so I just give her rice soup and breast,” explains Nu Lun while cooking traditional Chin corn soup for the rest of the family.
Other mothers are apparently also confused about what supplementary foods they should give their babies at what ages. Struggling to understand the food charts, they worry about their children choking..."
Source/publisher:
UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-10-23
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Food Security in Burma/Myanmar - web searches, specialised groups, reports and statistics, Public Health, Children
Language:
more
Description:
"A high ranking Myanmar health official has urged the public in the country to get their children vaccinated against polio and share the advantages of vaccination.
Speaking at a mass cycling event to mark the 2019 World Polio Day at the Palace Moat in Mandalay city in central region Sunday, Minister of Health and Sports Dr. Myint Htwe said extra vaccinations were given in August and October to protect children against polio, according to the ministry Monday.
Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung said the cycling event was aimed at increasing awareness of polio eradication among the public.
A total of 800 cyclists participated in the event.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced Myanmar as a polio-free country in 2014. However the polio disease was found again in the country as it failed to give vaccination to the children particularly those in the remote areas..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-10-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, Public Health, World Health Organisation (WHO)
Language:
more
Topic:
Cancer, Public health
Sub-title:
Myanmar’s struggle with cancers caused by betel quid shows biggest obstacles to treatment aren’t necessarily just financial.
Topic:
Cancer, Public health
Description:
"Win Ko Ko couldn't believe it when his doctor told him he had tonsil cancer, and that the main cause was betel quid — a popular, and potent, alternative to chewing tobacco.
"I saw myself as already dead," he said. He started making preparations for his death with his family.
Ko Ko, 33, suffered from swollen tonsils and was bleeding from his mouth for two years before he finally went to hospital, where he was diagnosed with stage two tonsil cancer in July 2017.
But Ko Ko, who made a full recovery, is among the lucky few. Most patients, if they are ever diagnosed, put off treatment until it is too late..."
Source/publisher:
"Politico" (UK)
Date of publication:
2019-01-30
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Cancer, Health
Language:
more
Description:
"The total death toll of influenza A (H1N1) pdm 09 reached 116 in Myanmar's regions and states as of Friday, according to figures released by the Ministry of Health and Sports on Saturday.
The release from the Public Health Department under the ministry said a total of 578 people were infected by the H1N1 seasonal influenza from Jan. 1 to Oct. 18 this year.
Most of the deaths were those who suffered from the seasonal influenza with underlying diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and other immune-deficiency conditions.
During the period, Yangon region registered highest mortality rate with 68 deaths.
According to the statistics from the Central Epidemiology Unit under the department, 58 percent of the seasonal influenza infection cases cover the age group of 15-65 years old..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-10-19
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"Ethnic Health Systems Strengthening Group: Providing healthcare in over 240 clinics and mobile health teams in Karen, Karenni, Mon
and Shan states, as well as the Eastern Bago and northern Tanintharyi regions, the Ethnic
Health Systems Strengthening Group (EHSSG) network consists of 9 partner organizations
aiming to build ethnic health systems in Eastern Burma and advocate for recognition of
their systems by the Ministry of Health and Sports. The partner organizations are either
community-based organizations (CBOs) or ethnic health organizations (EHOs) and provide
health services in ethnic areas of Eastern Burma: Shan State Development Foundation
(SSDF), Pa-Oh Health Working Committee (PHWC), Civil Health and Development Network
(CHDN), Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW), Back Pack Health Worker Team
(BPHWT), Burma Medical Association (BMA), Mon National Health Committee (MNHC), Mae
Tao Clinic (MTC) and Loi Tao Li (LTL).
In order to strengthen ethnic health systems, EHSSG implements the 6 building blocks as
advised by the WHO: service delivery; health workforce; access to essential medication;
leadership and governance; health financing and health information systems. MTC’s
Burma-Based Health Services department is a core member of EHSSG. Although MTC
is not involved in direct service delivery, we build the supporting framework necessary
to have sustainably functioning quality health systems. MTC primarily assists its partner
organizations in the EHSSG with Quality Improvement and Governance and Leadership.....Area-Based Health Delivery: In 2018, MTC and KDHW started area-based health delivery in the Mu Traw/
Hpa Pun district in northern Karen state. Health service providers in the area
cooperated to ensure that the region’s entire population has access to primary
health care, and, when necessary, referrals to advanced-level hospitals. This
approach was overseen and coordinated by a newly established District Health
Management team, consisting of a clinical supervisor, RH supervisor, pharmacy
manager, admin manager, finance coordinator and HIS supervisor. The process
of developing the area-based plan took place throughout 2017. Many aspects
of health service were considered before putting this plan into place, including:
mapping existing services and providers including government facilities; a
standardizing staffing structure and pay banding for the health facilities; identifying
the gap and coverage overlaps in service areas and population; standardizing
medical record forms; and reviewing the referral options (to both Thai and
Burma government facilities). Other factors inherent to the success of area-
based health delivery are: organizational development for health administrative
levels, health worker training, continuing medical education and appointment of
human resources following the agreed standard structure for village tract health
centers. 20 village tract health committees were formed and will be involved
when addressing health issues and services in the area..."
Source/publisher:
"Mae Tao Clinic" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2019-07-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
7.19 MB (33 pages)
more
Sub-title:
Massive shortfalls in government services, blocks on NGOs and travel restrictions for residents continue to starve communities in northern Rakhine State of access to healthcare and flout the recommendations of the Kofi Annan commission.
Description:
"In March this year, a young woman carrying twins went into labour in a village nine kilometres from the government hospital in the town of Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State. After two days in labour under the care of an untrained traditional midwife, her condition had sharply deteriorated and her family took her to the hospital, a 40-minute drive away. It was too late to save the twins, who were delivered dead, but the mother survived and was able to return home after a few days in hospital.
The mother’s ordeal is just one example of the suffering and unnecessary death caused by inadequate healthcare in northern Rakhine. After the crisis of 2017, the situation become critical, but it has worsened further in northern as well as central Rakhine since fighting escalated this year between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army.
I have worked in public healthcare in northern Rakhine since 2017 and have seen the deterioration firsthand. Much more needs to be done, especially in primary healthcare, reproductive health services, immunisation and emergency support, for those in need.
United Nations figures show that more than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh during the military “clearance operation” that followed attacks by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on security posts in northern Rakhine in August 2017. About one-third of the Rohingya population, or about 300,000 people, remained in northern Rakhine after the exodus, and along with other residents they have since been waiting for a significant improvement in access to healthcare..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-10-17
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Public Health
Language:
more
Topic:
Health
Topic:
Health
Description:
"These Rohingya language guidelines provide cultural background and linguistic context for humanitarian program managers, field workers, and interpreters who work in health programs. They accompany the TWB Glossary for Myanmar, which contains more than 200 health-and education-related terms. It is available in four languages online and offline via mobile app in written and audio format. https://glossaries.translatorswb.org/myanmar/
We compiled and verified these terms through interviews and focus group discussions, complemented by desk research.
The Rohingya people’s understanding of health combines ancient Indian traditions like Ayurveda, religious concepts like the Islamic jinns and nazar, Myanmar culture, and Western medicine. These culturally rich beliefs of how and why people get sick are valuable to understand when designing health interventions for the community. The language used by the Rohingya community when describing medical conditions reflects these various influences.
In central Rakhine, most communication to and from the Rohingya community flows through Rakhine-speaking interpreters and field staff. As such, it is important for program staff to be familiar with Rakhine and Rohingya terms. As the official language, and thus the one used by the health ministry, Myanmar influences both Rohingya and Rakhine. Newly acquired terms are often in Myanmar, and wholly adapted into the latter two languages. For example, the word for nutrition in both Rohingya and Rakhine is ahara, which was borrowed from Myanmar. Similarly, both Rakhine and Rohingya borrow the Myanmar word for vaccine, kaa-kway-see, albeit with a slight difference in pronunciation. These guidelines focus on medical concepts in Rohingya, to take into account low literacy rates and limited secondary language knowledge among Rohingya women and older people..."
Source/publisher:
" Translators without Borders" via Reliefweb
Date of publication:
2019-10-13
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Languages of Burma - general, Public Health
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf pdf
Size:
1.01 MB 460.38 KB
more
Topic:
Health, malaria, WHO
Sub-title:
Malaria is said to be as old as mankind. Worldwide it has killed more people than any other disease in history. Here in Myanmar, more than 8 million people remain at high risk, and we recorded over 70,000 cases in 2018. Yet, we firmly believe that we can,
Topic:
Health, malaria, WHO
Description:
"Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, according to the World Health Organisation. However, it is preventable and curable.
In the last seven years, we have witnessed extraordinary progress in the fight against malaria in the country. Cases have dropped by 85 percent and deaths by a stunning 95pc. With this current trajectory, we can end local transmission in Myanmar by 2030.
There are many reasons for the recent success. The government has made malaria elimination a political priority, not only for the Ministry of Health and Sports, but for all ministries. Public health facilities and village volunteers provide free tests, treatment and care across the country. And development partners have contributed significant funding and technical expertise. This has complemented large increases in domestic resources dedicated to tackle the disease.
We should celebrate progress. But we must also be mindful that the fight is not yet over. As we move closer to elimination, malaria will recede into the most remote of areas and make it harder to find the last cases. This challenge is compounded by antimalarial drug resistance in the countries surrounding the Mekong River. If drug resistance were to deepen and spread, we may have a public health disaster on our hands. We must stop drug resistance in its tracks, and the only way to do so with certainty is to eliminate the disease.
Elimination will require more of what has proven successful, as well as innovation. We must increase and sustain funding, ensure that all have access to quality health care, and expand the collaboration with communities affected by malaria. We must also deepen our partnership with the corporate sector.
In 2018, the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance and Yoma Strategic Holdings launched M2030 in Myanmar, bringing together businesses, consumers and health organisations to help end malaria. Today, local companies are also raising funds for malaria programs in Myanmar, reminding consumers that they can help end this disease..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-10-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Malaria, World Health Organisation (WHO)
Language:
more
Description:
"In a handing over ceremony held in Yangon on 7th October, 2019, India’s Deputy Chief of Mission Dr. Sumit Seth handed over 10,000 vials of Anti-Rabies Vaccines to Dr. Zaw Than Htun, Director General of Department of Medical Research [DG(DMS)], Ministry of Health and Sports, Government of Myanmar, according to a press release.
The aim of the donation was to provide support to the Government of Myanmar for its fight against Rabies and to showcase the strength of India’s pharmaceutical industry in manufacturing high quality vaccines at a highly competitive price.
Dr. Seth spoke about further cooperation in the health sector namely collaboration with India Council for Medical Research, sharing of case studies in the management of rabies, and capacity building programmes for Myanmar’s doctors and para-medics..."
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-10-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
India-Burma relations, Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"José Angel Portal, head of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), received Kyaw Tint Swe, Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor and special envoy of the Government of Myanmar, along with the delegation that accompanies him.
As reported by MINSAP official website, Swe is in Cuba to make the official announcement of the opening of the diplomatic mission of his country in Havana, and in this context he is interested in establishing bilateral cooperation relations in the health sector between the two nations.
Portal commented on the possibility of developing cooperation in the areas of health and academic services, and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.
Meanwhile, the special envoy affirmed that his country has “much to learn from the Cuban experience” and described the Cuban health system as one of the best in the world, so he is convinced that cooperation between both nations will be beneficial..."
Source/publisher:
"Radio Rebelde" (Cuba)
Date of publication:
2019-10-04
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"The total death toll of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) has risen to 107 in Myanmar in the first nine months this year, according to the figures released by the Ministry of Health and Sports on Thursday.
From January to Sept. 21 this year, a total of 18,320 people were infected by the mosquito-borne disease across the country, the ministry's Public Health Department said.
Regionally, Kachin state registered the highest infection with 2,904 cases and 29 deaths, followed by Ayeyarwady region with 2,631 cases, 11 deaths and others.
Meanwhile, 24 deaths were registered in Yangon region where 2,464 people were infected.
According to Vector Borne Disease Control Programme under the ministry, the DHF transmission mostly infected children aged between 5 and 9, registered 7,346 infection cases.
Last year, 3,469 DHF infection cases were recorded across Myanmar, claiming 187 lives.
Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of the Aedes mosquito and mostly occurs in Myanmar in the rainy season of June, July and August..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-10-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-10-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Dengue
Language:
more
Sub-title:
‘IgM’ blood protein identified in Melbourne, while NASA has project in Myanmar trying to forecast if disease hotspots are linked to deforestation
Description:
"Researchers in Australia say a particular antibody is far more influential in combating malaria than previously understood – a discovery which they say has major implications for developing an effective vaccine.
Antibodies are proteins in the blood produced by the immune system to fight infection.
Researchers at the Burnet Institute in Melbourne say the antibody known as IgM was widely thought to play only a cameo role in the immune response to malaria, by activating initially before disappearing when the leading antibody — known as IgG — takes over.
But the new research, published in the journal Science Advances, shows IgM acts as a co-lead with IgG to block and clear malaria infection in the blood. “The research team was able to show that IgM can persist for long periods to sustain the fight against malaria,” study senior author, and Burnet Institute Head of Malaria Immunity and Vaccines Laboratory, Professor James Beeson said..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2019-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Malaria
Language:
more
Description:
"Mobs of stick-wielding church-goers in Myanmar's northeast used to descend on dealers and addicts in a desperate effort to save their communities from a meth-induced health crisis sweeping the country.
But anonymous death threats brought the vigilante operations to a halt.
"It simply became too dangerous for us," says Zau Man, leader of the local Baptist church in Kutkai, a town in Shan State scarred by addiction.
Myanmar is the second-biggest producer of opium in the world after Afghanistan and is now believed to be the largest source of methamphetamine.
The multi-billion dollar industry outstrips rivals in South America to feed lucrative markets as far away as Sydney, Tokyo and Seoul.
Shan is the epicentre of production in Myanmar, with a network of local armed groups linking up with transnational trafficking gangs.
Kutkai sits between Mandalay and the militia-riddled town of Muse on the China border, a key entry point for precursor chemicals heading to Myanmar's illegal meth labs..."
Source/publisher:
"The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of publication:
2019-02-20
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) - Myanmar, Burma: opium and heroin, Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"Rakhine: New small internal displacements were reported during August due to the ongoing armed conflict. In northern Rakhine State, WFP’s emergency relief assistance continued to reach 97,700 conflict-affected people including 1,900 newly displaced people from 165 Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu villages in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. In addition, WFP reached over 7,800 children under 5 years and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) through nutrition interventions.
In central Rakhine State, WFP continued to assist 110,800 food-insecure people including 2,200 who were newly displaced through emergency relief food assistance. In addition, WFP extended its lean season support to over 4,400 most vulnerable people in Rathedaung Township.
WFP’s nutrition assistance reached 5,200 PLW and 24,600 children under five years of age.
Kachin: WFP provided emergency food assistance to 43,700 displaced and flood-affected people in Kachin State using cash and E-Money transfers. Over 1,860 PLW and children under 2 received nutrition assistance from WFP.
Shan: Armed clashes have flared up in Shan State since mid-August causing over 9,000 temporary internal displacements. Urgent needs of the displaced people were covered by the assistance from the Government and local well-wishers. WFP emergency relief distributions continued to support 7,300 displaced populations from northern Shan State. Hampered by the armed clashes,
WFP could not reach about 8,000 targeted people in conflict-affected villages of the KoKang Self-Administered Zone. Over 1,400 PLW and children under 2 received nutrition assistance in Shan State..."
Source/publisher:
World Food Programme (WFP) (Italy) via Reliefweb
Date of publication:
2019-09-26
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
WFP (World Food Programme), Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Kachin State, Shan State
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
187.02 KB
more
Sub-title:
On April 2 last year, a proud mother and father in the Mu Daw village of Kani Township in the Sagaing Division held an initiation ceremony for their son, who was about to enter the monkhood. The family treated about 700 invited guests, including other you
Description:
"The celebrations started at 9am, but by midday a number of guests complained of stomach aches. By early afternoon some had started vomiting, and others sought treatment at the Kanni Hospital.
Around 200 people suffered from food poisoning, but thankfully no-one died. One five-year-old boy and one sixty-year-old woman were hospitalised for three days. Authorities from the Department of Public Health in Sagaing took samples of 16 ingredients used in the cooking, and discovered a case of severe food poisoning. “People need to be careful when handling food, whether it is for preparing or eating it. Locals don’t use spoons at the ceremonies, and often eat with their hands. We told them before that if their hands are not clean, then the chances of getting sick are much higher,” Kani Township Medical Officer Dr Wai Mar Nwe told Metro.
The food donors need to be careful when choosing the right food, she added. “People in Myanmar have little awareness about the importance of food preparation and hygiene. Organisers first need to apply for permission from the Department of Public Health before preparing a feast for so many people, so that the food and cooking standards can be assessed. Very few people do that,” said Dr Myo Lwin Nyein, professor at the University of Medicine 2, Yangon. Dr Myo Lwin Nyein also used to head the Poisons Unit of the New Yangon General Hospital.
Dr Kyaw Nyein Aye, expert in chemicals, food, biotech and environment and visiting professor at the Yangon Technological University, said, “To understand food safety, one must also understand risk management. If something is declared dangerous, people will be more cautious. If Myanmar takes a more proactive approach to food safety, then the incidences of food poisoning will be much lower.”
Around ten percent of the world’s population suffer from some form of food poisoning each year, and 420,000 people die annually, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2019-08-21
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Combatting food insecurity in Burma, Policies leading to food insecurity in Burma, Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"•The UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator a.i., and heads of UNICEF, OCHA, and UNFPA visited Rakhine State from 19 to 21 August 2019 looking at both older, predominantly Rohingya IDP camps and camps for newly displaced.
• UNICEF has carried out 14 humanitarian assistance missions in Rathedaung and Buthidaung Townships in Rakhine State, reaching a total of 5,569 displaced and host community members, including an estimated 2,200 children.
• Distribution of Essential Learning Packages (ELP) and School Kits for crisis-affected children and schools started on 13 August, reaching nearly 9,500 children in central and northern Rakhine State.
• In Kayin and Mon States, UNICEF supported the Government of Myanmar to support more than 16,000 people affected by floods and landslides in August through provision of emergency hygiene supplies including kits and bleaching powder..."
Source/publisher:
"Reliefweb" via UNICEF (USA)
Date of publication:
2019-09-18
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Children, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Education in Burma - several ethnic groups, Public Health
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.27 MB
more
Topic:
Health, TB, WHO
Sub-title:
The Ayeyarwady Regional Public Health Department is urging the public, government and social groups to immediately inform health officials of people who may have tuberculosis (TB) so that steps can be taken to control the disease.
Topic:
Health, TB, WHO
Description:
"“Any government hospital or private clinic that treats a patient for TB must inform the Regional Health Department immediately so that we can treat them effectively,” Dr Than Tun Aung, deputy director general of the Ayeyarwady Regional Health Department, said.
The department launched a programme last month to treat the disease under its Tuberculosis-Diabetes Mellitus Standard Operational Procedures.
The department is conducting TB and diabetes screening to determine the extent of the disease in the region.
People who have been exposed to TB patients are provided medication for three months as a preventive measure. Those discovered to have full blown TB have to take medicine for six months, and those suffering from multi-drug-resistant TB must take medicine for 20 months, the department said.
“To reduce new infections, the cooperation of government offices, civic groups, and the public is very important,” Dr Than Tun Aung said.
The department estimated there were about 300 TB cases for every 100,000 people..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2019-09-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Tuberculosis and other lung/respiratory tract diseases, World Health Organisation (WHO)
Language:
more
Description:
"Nasa is developing a new technique to forecast malaria outbreaks in Myanmar from space, as the emergence of new drug-resistant strains in Southeast Asia threatens efforts to wipe out the deadly disease globally.
The goal of worldwide malaria eradication within a generation, by 2050, is "bold but attainable", a report released this week in The Lancet argued.
Malaria cases and deaths plummeted by more than 90% in Myanmar between 2010 and 2017, World Health Organization (WHO) figures show, a success largely credited to better rural health services and wider use of treated bednets.But the country still has a higher prevalence than its neighbours in the Mekong region.
Several drug-resistant strains are taking hold across Southeast Asia and it is feared these could migrate to Africa where more than 90% of cases globally occur.
To counter this threat, Nasa is deploying "cutting edge" spatial technology to tackle malaria outbreaks before they happen, scientist Tatiana Loboda told AFP..."
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post" via AFP
Date of publication:
2019-09-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Malaria
Language:
more
Description:
"Dengue fever has killed a total of 68 people across Myanmar in the past eight months, while more than 10,000 others have been infected, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS).
In an announcement released on Wednesday, the Department of Public Health under the MOHS stated that 13,048 people were hospitalized with the disease nationwide between Jan. 1 and Aug. 10, including the 68 fatal cases.
Irrawaddy Region had the highest number of infections with 2,350 cases and 8 deaths, followed by Yangon Region with 2,031 cases and 19 deaths.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease that can infect people of all ages but children below the age of 15 are most affected. According to MOHS data, more than 88 percent of dengue cases reported this year were patients under the age of 15.
The peak season for transmission of dengue in Myanmar is from July to August.
According to the MOHS, the first dengue outbreak in Myanmar was in Yangon in 1970, with 1,654 cases and 91 deaths. By 1974, the disease had spread across the country. Dengue fever has become much more common since then; in 2015, all states and regions reported cases of dengue..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2019-09-05
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Dengue
Language:
more
Description:
"Numbers of infection cases of seasonal Influenza A (H1N1) pdm 09 reached 498 nationwide in Myanmar as of Monday, said figures from the Public Health Department under the Ministry of Health and Sports on Tuesday.
So far, the influenza claimed a total of 105 deaths across Myanmar from Jan.1 to Aug. 26 this year.
Regionally, Yangon region saw highest mortality rate with 68 deaths, followed by Ayeyarwady region with 13 deaths, Bago region with 10 deaths while three deaths each were reported in Magway and Bago region, and one death was reported in Tanintharyi region, respectively.
Also, Mon state registered with three deaths while two deaths were reported in Rakhine state and one death each in Kachin state and Shan state.
Of the total deaths, 85 deaths were those who suffered from H1N1 influenza with underlying diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, and other immune-deficiency conditions, according to the Central Epidemiology Unit and National Health Laboratory under the ministry..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua"
Date of publication:
2019-08-27
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"The Advancing Community Empowerment (ACE) project supported by USAID is working with Mon National Health Committee (MNHC) in 18 health facilities within three townships in Mon, Kayin and Thanintharyi. Helping to support 25 vulnerable Internally Displaced People (IDP) villages with basic health care, antenatal care for pregnant women, and capacity building of health care workers.
Follow the MNHC team in Ye Township, Mon State as they help vulnerable communities with primary health care and provide skill-building training for 48 active Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) helping to improve hygienic home-labor, providing antenatal screening and referring at-risk mothers to health facilities.
To date under the ACE project, MNHC are one of a total of eight Critical Service Grants (CSG) partners helping to reduce community vulnerabilities in southeastern Myanmar. To find out more about new grant opportunities relating to health, education & livelihoods services to rural communities in underserved and hard to reach communities in the southeastern region of Myanmar/Burma please visit the following link:..."
Source/publisher:
Pact Myanmar
Date of publication:
2018-11-26
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Mon State, Children
Language:
more
Description:
"The Advancing Community Empowerment (ACE) project supported by USAID is working with Mon National Health Committee (MNHC) in 18 health facilities within three townships in Mon, Kayin and Thanintharyi. Helping to support 25 vulnerable Internally Displaced People (IDP) villages with basic health care, antenatal care for pregnant women, and capacity building of health care workers.
Follow the MNHC team in Ye Township, Mon State as they help vulnerable communities with primary health care and provide skill-building training for 48 active Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) helping to improve hygienic home-labor, providing antenatal screening and referring at-risk mothers to health facilities.
To date under the ACE project, MNHC are one of a total of eight Critical Service Grants (CSG) partners helping to reduce community vulnerabilities in southeastern Myanmar. To find out more about new grant opportunities relating to health, education & livelihoods services to rural communities in underserved and hard to reach communities in the southeastern region of Myanmar/Burma please visit the following link:..."
Source/publisher:
Pact Myanmar
Date of publication:
2018-11-26
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health, Mon State, Children
Language:
more
Description:
"The Advancing Community Empowerment (ACE) project supported by USAID is working with Mon National Health Committee (MNHC) in 18 health facilities within three townships in Mon, Kayin and Thanintharyi. Helping to support 25 vulnerable Internally Displaced People (IDP) villages with basic health care, antenatal care for pregnant women, and capacity building of health care workers.
Follow the MNHC team in Ye Township, Mon State as they help vulnerable communities with primary health care and provide skill-building training for 48 active Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) helping to improve hygienic home-labor, providing antenatal screening and referring at-risk mothers to health facilities.
To date under the ACE project, MNHC are one of a total of eight Critical Service Grants (CSG) partners helping to reduce community vulnerabilities in southeastern Myanmar. To find out more about new grant opportunities relating to health, education & livelihoods services to rural communities in underserved and hard to reach communities in the southeastern region of Myanmar/Burma please visit the following link:..."
Source/publisher:
Pact Myanmar
Date of publication:
2018-11-26
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health
Language:
more
Sub-title:
NGOs are filling healthcare gaps in one of the country’s poorest regions, but building trust and navigating bad roads remain formidable challenges.
Description:
"HIGH IN the Naga Hills, at Hay Khun village, less than 25 kilometres from the border with India, women and children wrapped in traditional handmade blankets gather at a small wooden schoolhouse where a mobile medical clinic has been set up for the evening.
By the morning, the doctors and nurses will have treated 27 people for ailments ranging from sore eyes to minor wounds, and provided pregnancy tests, all for free.
The clinic is one of the several initiatives by international and domestic non-government organisations to help the government provide healthcare in one of Myanmar’s poorest areas, the Naga Self-Administered Zone, in Sagaing Region in the northwest of the country.
The remote location of the Naga SAZ, which was established under the 2008 Constitution, has meant that the development of infrastructure, such as roads and telecommunications towers, has been slow.
Its remoteness has also majorly limited the provision of healthcare. Many villages are accessible only by footpaths, and contact with health professionals is infrequent. Villagers speak of following practices rooted in their animist past before the arrival of missionaries and their conversion to Christianity, such as livestock sacrifices and drinking animal blood, when seeking cures for illness.
A measles outbreak in 2016 that killed more than 40 people put the healthcare gaps in the Naga SAZ and their impact on its 62,000 residents in the national spotlight.
Staff of the Ministry of Health and Sports claim they are doing what they can..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication:
2019-04-29
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Nagaland (Naga), Public Health, Nagas (cultural, political)
Language:
more
Description:
"25,000 newborns delivered and managed by Emergency Paediatric Care Programme teams
108,611 children and women in conflict-affected areas utilized antenatal care, delivery care, post-natal visits and emergency referrals
928 patients with severe and complicated illnesses received referral support in Kachin, Rakhine,
Shan States
3749 Basic Health Staff and clinical staff from Rakhine, Magway and Kachin States trained in Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition services
Our work to improve child and maternal health and nutrition helps save lives
Child survival and good health are the foundations of individual wellbeing and national prosperity. UNICEF is providing vital and holistic support to significantly improve the health and boost the nutrition condition of children in Myanmar. All our work is firmly anchored in a health systems strengthening approach with a focus on children with the greatest needs.
How we help: Our comprehensive approach boosts results
Ending preventable newborn and child deaths: Myanmar still has a high under-five children mortality rate of 50 per 1,000 live births. Vulnerability is highest among poorer families, and in disaster-prone and conflict-affected areas. Seven out of 15 states and regions contribute to 75 per cent of underfive deaths. Newborn deaths (in the first month of life) contribute to half of all child deaths, with most occurring during delivery and the child’s first day of life. Low delivery in health institutions (37 per cent) and low skilled birth attendance (60 per cent) contribute to this..."
Source/publisher:
"Reliefweb" via UNICEF
Date of publication:
2019-08-16
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Children, HIV/AIDS - international, regional and thematic material, Food Security and nutrition in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
288.17 KB
more
Description:
"Australian Red Cross has been supporting the Myanmar Red Cross with integrated community-based programs. The work promotes disease prevention, clean water systems and training people in First Aid response..."
Source/publisher:
Australian Red Cross
Date of publication:
2016-06-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-08-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sustainable/alternative development in and for Burma, Water security in Burma/Myanmar, Public Health
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Villagers who live near a 10-inch pipe that discharges wastewater from factories in the Mandalay Industrial Zone in the Dotehtawady River have suffered health and social problems for years.
Description:
"Adults and children who rely on the river for bathing and household water because they can't afford clean water are suffering from skin disease, according to some residents of Myo Pyin Gyi village in Amarapura township of Mandalay.
"Many people are itching because of the wastewater. Those who have money can dig wells for household use and bathing, and buy drinking water, but poor people and those living along the river have to use the river water, and they are always itching," said U Win Saung a 10-household leader in Myo Pyin Gyi.
The village of more than 300 houses and about 1000 people is a half mile from the sewage pipe. In the past, residents used the river water for bathing and drinking, but the water has been undrinkable for about a decade, he said, and now two-thirds of the houses in the village have wells..."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Water Portal via "Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2019-07-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-07-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"In Myanmar, migrants, mobility impacted communities and host communities face several
challenges affecting their access to health care services. These barriers are due to poor access
to information and knowledge, lack of accessibility to health care facilities, discrimination,
financial, logistical, linguistic and cultural barriers and weak referral mechanisms between
services in origin and destination areas.
For more than 10 years, IOM Myanmar has been working with the Ministry of Health and Sports (MOHS), State and Township
Health Authorities and Communities and partners to develop and deliver extensive and comprehensive health programming with a
focus on HIV, TB and malaria; maternal and child health, sexual reproductive health and rights, gender based violence (GBV); and
health system strengthening, including cross border health and the migration dimension in humanitarian crises.
IOM works to strengthen state and township level planning and capacity in the delivery of migrant health through engagement of
private entities and linking private-public partnerships as well as capacity building of private and public health staff. For example,
IOM values partnerships with existing ethnic health organisations (EHOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and local NGOs, women’s organisations, youth volunteers and men’s groups and communities to expand access to outreach services and conduct information sessions and prevention activities. Moreover, the Migration Health Unit has worked to strengthen referral mechanisms
through migrant voucher systems and the revitalisation of Village Tract Health Committees (VTHC), provision of essential medicines
and supplies, minor refurbishment of health facilities and the establishment of migrant resource centres/service centres at border
areas and special economic zone areas.
IOM Myanmar also strives for the enhancement of quality data collection and reporting including health management information systems
and data quality assurance and through conducting assessments of service accessibility in targeted communities..."
Source/publisher:
IOM Myanmar
Date of publication:
2018-07-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
IOM Burma/Myanmar, Health of Burmese refugees and migrants, Public Health, HIV/AIDS - Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
490.97 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"In August 2017, a major humanitarian crisis in the
Rakhine State of Myanmar triggered a mass exodus of
around three-quarters of a million stateless Rohingya
refugees into neighbouring Bangladesh, adding to
the estimated 200,000–300,000 Rohingya refugees
in Bangladesh who had fled Myanmar earlier and the
estimated 73,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia.
Limited information is available on the culture and
mental health of the Rohingya, which poses significant
challenges to the provision of Mental Health and
Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and related services
to this group. Therefore, UNHCR commissioned this
document with the aim of providing a concise review
of the literature concerning the culture, context,
mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of Rohingya
refugees.
The content of the document is based on an extensive
review of the published and grey literature including
various sources of information provided by United
Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations,
and governments. The search included published
and unpublished archival data, academic articles,
documents, and other relevant documentary
materials from disciplines ranging across the social
sciences, anthropology, ethno-cultural studies,
psychology and public health. A core group of
multidisciplinary personnel wrote and reviewed draft
versions of the document after which an advanced
draft was sent out for wide review among academics,
NGO staff and UN experts.
The first part of the review provides a broad overview
of the general context focusing on the historical,
geographic, demographic, economic, political,
religious, gender, and cultural factors relevant to
the Rohingya people. The Rohingya are the largest
Muslim group in Myanmar. Their history is complex,
involving exposure to a long legacy of human rights
violations including torture, rape, assault, extrajudicial
killings, and restricted access to education and health
care. Many, and probably most. Rohingya have been
displaced, either within Myanmar or as refugees now
residing in Bangladesh, Malaysia and other countries.
The second part of the report focuses on the
mental health of the Rohingya people, including the epidemiology of mental health conditions, the
range of risk factors (e.g. exposure to potentially
traumatic events, poverty, shortage of food, shelter,
healthcare, loss of identity, being stateless, sexual
and gender-based violence), and protective factors
(e.g. religion, spiritual adherence and practice,
formal and informal social support). This section
also describes the various terms in the Rohingya
language to indicate mental health conditions. These
concepts are not equivalent to the psychological
concepts of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder
or anxiety disorder, although they could overlap to
some extent overlap with them. Thus, MHPSS service
providers need to clearly explain what they mean
when they use international constructs of mental
ill-health in conversations with Rohingya clients.
Rohingya cultural idioms of distress (common modes
of expressing distress within a culture or community)
and explanatory models (the ways that people explain
and make sense of their symptoms or illness) are
closely related to religious ideas and concepts held
by the person. The Rohingya worldview of the self/
person tends to distinguish between the brain (mogos/
demag), the mind-soul (dilor/foran), and the physical
body (jism). It is important that MHPSS providers
working with Rohingya have a global idea of these
concepts since they influence the expectations and
coping strategies of their Rohingya clients.
The third part of the review describes the current
humanitarian context, particularly in Bangladesh
where multiple agencies are involved in MHPSS
interventions within various sectors such as health,
nutrition, education and protection (including
child protection, community-based protection and
prevention and response around sexual and genderbased violence – SGBV).
This review highlights the importance of
understanding the key sociocultural aspects of mental
health and wellbeing to assist humanitarian agencies,
government, and non-government organizations
in providing effective culturally informed services
to the Rohingya. An overarching aim in providing
this information is to encourage a consistent and
coordinated multi-sectoral approach to address the
mental health needs of the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher:
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication:
2018-10-10
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Public Health
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.21 MB
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Description:
"Dear UNICEF partners,
As Myanmar writes a new chapter in its history, and
as the World adopts its Sustainable Development
Goals agenda, UNICEF Myanmar‘s report for 2015
“Delivering Results for Children” is an opportunity
to reflect on progress and results within the 2011-
2017 Programme of Cooperation between the
Government of the Union of Myanmar and UNICEF.
This year, the cooperation has been driven by three main considerations: 1/ the
importance of turning policies and plans into tangible changes in children’s lives,
as longer term reforms proceed; 2/ the need to respond to humanitarian needs
- arising from protracted situations and from the massive floods and landslides
that affected the country, while further mainstreaming risk reductions strategies into
development plans; and 3/ the central place of children in determining factors for
Myanmar’s sustainable development - peace, social cohesion, and human rights.
Releases of children and young people from the armed forces have continued,
with more than 146 released this year alone, and falling one child short of the 700
mark since the signing of the Joint Action Plan in 2012. In targeted townships,
the proportion of children aged 3-5 years accessing early childhood facilities
increased to 37.5% in 2015 from 17% in 2014. More than 95% of children aged 9
to 15 (approximately 13 million) were protected from measles and rubella through
vaccination campaigns. More than 280,000 children in 27 townships benefitted from
the first ever deployment of social work case managers. The proportion of children
under 5 registered continued to increase, reaching 79% in 2015..."
Bertrand Bainvel
Source/publisher:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
Date of publication:
2015-12-01
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Children, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Public Health, Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.66 MB
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Description:
"Before Ma Thet Thet Aung became a full-time mother, she used to work as a teacher. “But, I really wanted to become a police woman. I think the uniform exude confidence,” says Ma Thet Thet Aung with a smile. “Ever since I became a mother, I look after my daughter; help my mother with house chores and take part in our community group discussions.”
Ma Thet Thet Aung lives in Wan Pan Akhar village about an hour drive from Keng Tung town in eastern Shan State. The community group discussions, usually take place at the residence of the village head. It is also the same place where Ma Thet Thet Aung takes Ei Thet Mon, her 15 months old baby, for her growth monitoring.
“Ei Thet has always been a healthy baby, weighing 6.4 lbs at birth. The health workers always put her weight record in the green zone of the growth chart. She does not cry or get grumpy as much. I am thankful, especially, for the sessions I attended during her first six months. I received useful advice on how to take care of a child in the early months,” says Ma Thet Thet Aung, referring to the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) support group sessions provided by the Malteser International with funds from Department for International Development (DFID) through UNICEF. The villagers refer to Ei Thet Mon as one of the healthiest babies and everyone finds it hard to put her on the weighing scale that is tied to a longyi.
Ei Thet Mon is being put into a hammock-like longyi tied to a weighing scale with the help of a health educator and a mother at a growth monitoring session in Wan Pan Akhar village in Keng Tung, eastern Shan State.
"It is amazing how she keeps growing. She was just 9 lbs three months ago and now she is already 10.5 lbs. I am glad I knew how to take care of her when she fell sick last month.”
But, not every mother has an all positive story as Ma Thet Thet Aung. Recently, her six months-old nephew’s weight record has dropped down to the red zone compared to his last. But help was not too far. Right away, health educators consulted her sister-in-law, Ma Soe Soe Khaing on what she needs to do to bring her son’s weight back to the green zone. Ma Thet also shares her experience with Ma Soe Soe Khaing regularly..."
Nyan Zay Htet
Source/publisher:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
Date of publication:
2019-05-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
UNICEF together with the Ministry of Health and Sports and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation convened key representatives from national Government, Yangon and Mandalay Municipalities, several universities, development partners, donors and UN agencies to take stock of the current situation and to chart a way forward with practical solutions to address the increasingly serious health concerns from indoor and outdoor air pollution in Myanmar.
Outdoor and indoor air pollution are directly linked with pneumonia and other respiratory diseases that account for almost 1 in 10 deaths among children under the age of five globally, making air pollution one of the leading concerns for children’s health. In Myanmar, almost all rural households use highly polluting biomass for cooking. Additionally, smog-forming emissions from old vehicles and the burning of waste (household, industrial, agricultural, etc.) deteriorate the air quality in urban areas. Acute respiratory infection is one of the most common childhood illnesses and the third leading cause of death for children under five. The most recent data shows that 62 per cent of child deaths from acute lower respiratory infections in Myanmar can be attributed to indoor air pollution. For children under the age of five, household air pollution is the fourth-highest risk factor behind low birth weight, childhood underweight, and suboptimal breastfeeding.
“With rapid development already occurring, it is important to address air pollution in Myanmar for the health and safety of Myanmar’s people. We have immediate choices before us to develop sustainably and with adequate consideration to our environment,” said Dr. Maung Maung Soe, Mayor of Yangon City, in his opening remarks. “We need effective partnerships—public and private—international, national, municipal, and local—to build on the momentum growing and fill the critical gaps urgently.”
The East Asia and Pacific region is home to some 4.3 million children under the age of five living in areas where outdoor air pollution exceeds six times the international limits set by the World Health Organization. While some countries are making progress, most face critical challenges in their fight against air pollution due to the lack of availability and use of quality data on air quality and health impacts and cross-sectoral mechanisms to develop and implement clean air solutions that meet the needs of children and most vulnerable populations.
Sharing the experience of actions taken in Mongolia to address the air pollution crisis in that country, UNICEF’s Representative to Mongolia, Alex Heikens, outlined effective areas of effort to reduce the impact of air pollution on children: mitigating the immediate health impacts while reducing specific causes of pollution sustainably; reducing exposure through awareness raising in communities and schools; and strengthening health services.
The potential for youth engagement as agents of change was also highlighted by students who have been involved in the new bottom-up air quality monitoring around Yangon. Connect University students have taken the issue into their own hands by contributing data that has alerted the community on high levels of pollution that people were previously not aware of without the monitoring.
Source/publisher:
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
Date of publication:
2019-05-20
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Public Health
Language:
English
more
Description:
“ပထံၣ်လၢပမ့ၢ်ဒီသဒၢလၢတၢ်ဆဲးကသံၣ်တခီ တၢ်ကီတၢ်ခဲတဖၣ်ပလဲၤခီပတာ်အီၤကန့ၢ်”
(ခ့ၣ်အဲၣ်ယူၣ်)ကညီဒီကလုာ်စၢဖှိၣ်ကရၢ တၢ်ပၢ မုၢ်တြီၢ်(ဖၣ်ပူၣ်) တၢ်လီၢ်ဟီၣ်က၀ီၤအပူၤ စးထီၣ်ဖဲလါအီကူာ် ကတၢၢ်ဒီးလါစဲးပထ့ဘၢၣ်ကတီၢ်အံၤ ပှၤဖိသၣ်ကအိၣ်လၢ (၃၀၀)ဃၣ်ဃၣ်ဘၣ်၀ဲ တၢ်သမူးဖိတၢ်ဆါအံၤ န့ၣ်လီၤ. ဘၣ်ထွဲဒီးတၢ်ဂ့ၢ်အ၀ဲအံၤ ပှၤလၢအကူစါ၀ဲတၢ်ဆါအံၤ အဘူးကတၢၢ်လၢအမ့ၢ် (BPHWT)ပှၤနဲၣ် တၢ် စီၤ၀့ကၠီၣ်အံၤ ပထံၣ်လိာ်သံကွၢ်အီၤန့ၣ်လီၤ..."
စီၤ၀့ကၠီၣ်အံ
Source/publisher:
KIC (Karen Information Center)
Date of publication:
2018-08-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-03-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Sgaw Kareb
more
Description:
"There have been some clear successes made in public health in Myanmar over the past year. The release of several reports, including on public health data between 2014-2016 and the National Health Plan 2017-2021, shed light on the state of public health in the country. The following Year in Review post explores some of these achievements in the past year but also highlights the slow pace of reform..."
Source/publisher:
Teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2018-05-21
Date of entry/update:
2018-05-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health
Language:
more
Description:
"The ECV Toolkit was developed to reinforce the IFRC Community-Based Health and (CBHFA) Toolkit, a comprehensive training and resource package for volunteers in community health development and health risk reduction programming.
The ECV Toolkit ensures that volunteers have the proper training and essential communication tools (among other materials) before they are engaged in outbreak and epidemic response in their communities. It is known that in the middle of an outbreak or epidemic, volunteers have limited time to remember everything they have learned during trainings, or to develop effective response ? the ECV Toolkit is therefore designed as a set of practical, easy-to-follow tools to be easily picked up and followed."
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Red Cross Society
Date of publication:
2015-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-07-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Public Health
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Non communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading global cause of death and disability. Between and within countries, however, there is still a marked diversity in the causes and nature of this disease transition. In Myanmar, economic and political reforms, and the ways in which these intersect with health, have created a unique public health and development context with major ramifications for public health. Myanmar?s transition creates anl opportunity to learn from the public health and development mistakes made elsewhere, but signs are at present that the rush towards short term economic opportunities is taking precedence. This piece illustrates some of the local dynamics that drive NCDs in Myanmar, and potential entry points for the international community to help address Myanmar?s next major health challenge..."
Sam Byfield, Maeve Kennedy, Guest Contributors
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2013-10-29
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more