Myanmar

The distress experienced by millions of people in Myanmar continues large ly unnoticed. controlled by a military regime since 1962 and subject to international sanctions, the country has been cut off from the outside world for decades. people lack access to healthcare and cannot afford these services even when they are available.

 

With malaria, malnutrition, tuberculosis (TB) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) causing a huge amount of illness and death, MSF conducts ongoing negotiations to access patients in this difficult environment and performed over one million medical consultations in 2006. Projects in 2006/2007 were running in Yangon, Thaninthary division and in Kayah, Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states.

 

MSF has several projects focusing on prevention and treatment of STIs and HIV/AIDS in areas with a high presence of sex workers, drug users and migrants. In total, MSF had over 9,500 people registered for HIV/AIDS care in 2006.

 

As HIV/AIDS patients are often co-infected with TB, MSF is devoting greater attention to the identification and treatment of people coinfected with HIV and TB at its clinics. In the HIV/AIDS project in Yangon, over 11,422 people were screened for TB and 4,397 admitted for treatment in 2006. The project also provides care to sex workers and other people with STIs. MSF also has an HIV/AIDS project with a TB component at Dawei, Thaninthary division, where 884 patients were treated for TB in 2006. Similar projects are running in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states.

 

Malaria is widespread throughout the country. In Myeik, MSF has three clinics and a surveillance system that utilises a boat to reach people in the most remote areas of the archipelago, providing treatment to 17,462 people in 2006. Patients also received malaria treatment in Kayah, a particularly neglected state because of its difficult geography and worsening civil conflict. Here MSF has established a primary healthcare project to respond to the health needs of direct and indirect victims of conflict through mobile and fixed clinics.

 

Over 450,000 patients were tested and 210,000 treated for malaria in Rakhine state in 2006.

 

This is MSF's largest malaria programme, supporting 30 clinics and running seven mobile clinics that focus primarily on diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

 

In Rakhine, MSF has responded to discrimination of the Rohingya - a minority Muslim group whose citizenship is disputed - by offering free access to healthcare and treating approximately 50,000 patients yearly. In 2006, MSF also continued a feeding programme, helping over 3,000 malnourished children.

 

MSF continues to advocate to the government for greater healthcare access for the Rohingya and raises awareness of the difficulties faced by this population through public communications.