All men are created equal.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Poor health care system plagues Myanmar.

Myanmar has also one of the world's worst health care systems, with tens of thousands dying each year from malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, dysentery, diarrhea and a litany of other illnesses. The situation inside Myanmar is complex and health data are often unreliable or difficult to gather, especially from restive areas of the country dominated by ethnic minorities who have been at civil war for decades. Most of Myanmar's health care is funded by international sources, with the government spending only about 3 percent on health annually, compared with 40 percent on the military. An estimated 90 percent of Burmese live on just $1 a day and the United Nations ranks the resource-rich country among the 20 poorest in the world following decades of mismanagement under military dictatorship. So People who have no money go to a clinic and they cannot get good health care.
In rural Myanmar - where 70 percent of the country's 58 million people live - most villages lack basic health care. Patients travel hours - in some hilly regions nearly an entire day - to reach hospitals or clinics located only in towns. Due to the remoteness between their villages and towns, patients come to the hospital only when they cannot stand their deteriorating health conditions. While some arrive at the hospital in time, some arrive too late.
Due to a lack of health care services, there are normally just two options for many rural people: rely on local traditional remedies or seek treatments from untrained health workers. Some people rely on quack doctors, though they know that is not a good choice. It's because they need not pay medical fees immediately; they can pay later after they reap their harvest or crops. In an effort to fill the gap, a dozen health international NGOs(non-government organizations)  are providing free medical care, but the demand far outstrips their capacity and it is not enough to get health care for all the rural  people.In Myanmar rural areas, communication is unreliable, while transportation is uncomfortable. There is no medical journal or internet access for the rural people to learn the latest medical science there. Medical Students tend to come from wealthy urban families and are unwilling to serve in poor, rural areas. Most health workers prefer working in cities where private hospitals and clinics pay higher salaries. While the government needs to give incentives to the health workers so they want to go and work in the poor rural areas, at the same time, the government needs to spend more on the overall health sector.
For above these facts, there are so many things to be changed about health care system in Myanmar. Because of the political situation of Myanmar, we can’t do anything we want and no rights even though other countries like US, Korea…want to help and provide Myanmar for health services. Perhaps, I could change all the systems (everything) in Myanmar if I became a president some day.

2 comments:

  1. After reading your article, i think, in your country,no one can improve the situation,but only the government can.It is not only the problem of health insurance but the whole country. Only if your government can change the police can we hope the people's health condition become better,and maybe then everything will become better. We hope one day you can be the president and your country will become better.

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  2. As you said,everything depends on the authorities for this moment and we can't do anything but something.Thanks for hoping my country would be better in the future.

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