Brief on the current public health
situation in Mon State
Ministry of Health and
National Health Committee of Union of Myanmar, has planned to
promote public health in the country and it is now campaniging
widely in the community for a better health in nation wide. Ministry
of Health has also implemented to State and Local Health Department
to foster the campaign and service of public health. The military
government has drawn a health project from 2001-2006. According
Health Report from Mon State, despite the military government has
developed a health project since 2001, there is no sufficient
improvement for the public health. The report said that health
budget allocation is lacking from the government to the previous
years. The Health Department could not employ sufficient health
workers and medical doctors. Moreover, according to a doctor from
one Township, the military government also could not pay regular
salary to health empoyees. Despite the military government has
received aid from overseas, the resources did not place to the
public hospitals. Furthermore, the military government has built
road construction and school buildings for the sole purpose of
remaining in power with the community support but a health service
is ignored by the Burmese military officials. The regime in Rangoon,
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), allocates less than 10%
of State Budget for the Ministries of Health and Education. In the
recent years, WHO also found the health care situation in Burma is
worth if compared with many other countries in the world.
I.
A. Current services and condition of public hospitals
Althought
the sussesive governments have operated Local Health and Medical
Clinic in rural areas, the current military government could not
provide or re-fill full medical equipment and other medical goods
including medicines. The worse situation that almost all hospitals
in Mon State could not use 24 hours electricity. Some hospitals pay
an electricity bill to local private generators for emergency
service. Most hospital only receive electricity up to 9:00 pm if
they pay to private generators. A few hospitals have their own
generators that were donated by individuals but the generators could
not run for 24 hours as the raising patrol price.
According a township local doctor, a particular patient must pay for
the cost of the electricity bill if he/she had received emergency
operation. Consequently, most poor people do not dare to visit
hospital unless they felt serious pain.
I. B. Who
and how the private clinics work?
Doctors who have
employment from the public hospitals could open Private Clinic. Most
patients now increaselly visit to the Private Clinic than public
hospitals. A basic cost in the Private Clinic is at least Kyat
800-1000.00 for caughing. (Kyat 1000.00 is about 1 US Dollar and the
daily income for a woman in Burma is only about Kyat 500.00. -
Editor’s Note). Ordinary people mostly have no knowledge about
health and medication but they eagerly listen to the doctors and
easily accept for injection or medication. Therefore, doctors again
mostly could not visit regularly to the public hospial while they
earn more money at their own clinic. A few doctors also provide beds
and accommodation to over night for patients with extra charge.
There are a few private clinics such as “Zar Ni Aung, Taw
Win”, “Zar Ni Phwe”, “A One” and
“Popular” where patients pay highly expensive for a
treatment. These clinics are stationed in Moulmein, the capital city
of Mon State.
I. C. Prescription under
corruption
The Ministry of Health is unable to
provide sufficient medicines to the public hospitals. A local doctor
said, despite the hospital staff is advised by personals from
Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) that assistance will be arrived
shortly after the meeting, in reality there is no source of
assistances has been reached to them. The Ministry of Health has
allocated medicines for one year ration but it is only last for one
month, local doctors confirmed. According to a doctor from Mothers
and Children Welfare Hospital, aspirin amd tablets are not enough in
the public hospitals. Management Board of the public hospitals have
bought medicine from private phamacy stores and re-sale them to
in-patients for own benefit under the name of “Staff Saving
Program” or other unofficial program for extra money in the
hospitals. According to a return patient from the hospital, the
price of medicine in the hospital is more expensive than at private
phamacy stores. Furthermore, only person who holds doctor’s
prescription is able to buy medicines at out door phamacy stores.
Ordinary citizens are not given Blood Test unless they paid
for a service fee to the hospitals, a local patient said. Socially,
doctors and nurses are not properly deal or communicate with both in
and out patients, a return-patient said. Patients are forcefully
paid for unofficial loan or contribution on their arrival for
registration before they could have a bed. There were a signboard
that said “Free Treatment” in the hospital in the past
but now the signboard has gone from the public’s eye.
I.
D. Women and the problems in child delivery
Officially,
only Kyat 2500.00 is charged to “Give Birth” for
mothernity but the actual cost is over Kyat 10000.00, a local
patient confirmed. According a nurse from Mothers and Children
Welfare Association, an official government body from Mudon, eight
out of ten patients visit to local health clinic or traditional
treatment because most poor people could not afford the cost in
hospitals.
Due to the expensive cost in hospital, most poor
rural women could not afford to pay for all costs of
hospitalization. Therefore, most women in the rural villages deliver
babies by traditional birth attendents in their villages. This also
created high rate of death among women and new born babies. On the
other hand, due to the difficulties in traveling and carrying the
pregnant women, most women in the rural areas have no choice, but
they have to deliver their babies in village by traditional birth
attendents.
I. E. Phamacy stores and its
prices
Almost ordinary citizens especially poor
people can afford to use medicines (traditional medicines) from the
street shops. The worse scenario is that majority street shop owners
do not have knowledge about medication and health. (They even do not
hold a registration or a licence for selling medicines). Moreover,
various kind of traditional drugs (tablets) are available at the
street shops including at street stalls . Many traditional drugs
have no legal trade – mark or technical laboratory in medical
sciences schools. Ordinary citizens did not aware of an ingredience
of traditional drug and its consequences as
its contain over limited raw materials. Despite traditional drugs
relief a short period of pain but in fact its could not terminate
the root of disease.
According a patient, “we cannot
afford to buy medicines in hospitals and its also too expensive for
us, so we just use traditional drug becuase its have similar
effectiveness.” This is the root cause of the problems why
many patients do not go to the hospital if their health situation
not so serious. The patients went to the hopitals when they found
they are too serious.
General public did not aware that lack
of manutrition is a basic source for receiving diseases. They also
have no health education and information by the Ministry of Health
on regular base. As they learned nothing about health education, on
the other hand they could not prevent temsleves to various kinds of
diseases.
each home to educate public for prevention. They can only visit
schools and provided information to students for prevention with a
few poster and leaflets.