Dr. Si Thura, Executive Director of Community Partners International, reviews progress towards universal health coverage in Myanmar and identifies the key actions required to build the momentum needed to reach this goal. In this period of reform, Myanmar has an unprecedented opportunity to achieve historic gains in advancing health for all. On Universal Health Coverage Day, I urge all of us who are involved in this cause to renew our efforts, and push forward progress so that we can reach every person with affordable, quality health care.
In Myanmar, violence against women and girls is a silent emergency. It takes many forms: domestic and intimate partner violence perpetrated within families; unwanted touching and sexual harassment on public transport; and violence occurring in conflict zones where women are particularly vulnerable. In a national survey carried out in 2015 and 2016, one in seven women in Myanmar reported that they had experienced violence since the age of 15.[1] The real number is likely to be many more.
Community Partners International (CPI) is supporting efforts to end tuberculosis (TB) in Myanmar by promoting access to TB testing and treatment for conflict-affected, hard-to-reach and under-served populations. A crucial element of success in reaching these populations is to ensure strong cooperation between the Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) and the ethnic and community-based organizations that provide the first line of health services in these contexts.
No One Left Behind: Myanmar Civil Society Steps Up in Support of Universal Health Coverage11/4/2019
On October 23 and 24, 2019, more than 300 delegates from civil society organizations (CSOs) nationwide gathered in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, at the Fourth National Forum of Myanmar Health Civil Society organized by Pyi Gyi Khin (PGK) with support from Community Partners International (CPI). They were joined by more than 80 representatives from international and national non-government organizations, donor agencies, and the Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS). At the forum, delegates explored the role and progress of health CSOs in supporting the attainment of universal health coverage (UHC) in Myanmar. In addition, CPI unveiled a new mobile application to support the development of the Health CSOs Network in Myanmar.
Many women in remote and conflict-affected communities of Kachin State, Myanmar, lack access to reliable and comprehensive birth control options. Until recently in Myanmar, injectable hormonal birth control could only be provided by midwives. However, most communities in Kachin State do not have regular access to midwife services. In an important recent development, the Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) introduced new guidelines allowing auxiliary midwives (AMWs) to administer a self-injectable hormonal birth control option (known as DMPA-SC), once they have been sufficiently trained. As the AMW network can reach more remote communities, this change has the potential to transform access to reliable and comprehensive birth control for many thousands of women of reproductive age in Kachin State and across Myanmar.
On May 27 and 28, 2019 , Myanmar, 85 representatives from 60 civil society organizations (CSOs) delivering health services in Tanintharyi Region gathered in Dawei at a forum focused on universal health coverage (UHC) organized by Community Partners International (CPI) in partnership with Pyi Gyi Khin. The forum is part of a nationwide effort by CPI to raise awareness and understanding among health CSOs about UHC, and support their engagement and involvement in delivering a basic essential package of health services to their communities under the National Health Plan, 2017-2021 (NHP).
On March 13, 2019, Community Partners International (CPI) and the Myanmar Health CSOs Network organized an information sharing session with 85 Myanmar parliamentarians in Nay Pyi Taw to refocus attention on, and build momentum for, a national health insurance system to help Myanmar attain universal health coverage (UHC).
Health providers in Myanmar are continuing efforts to contain a nationwide measles outbreak that has infected more than 1,300 people and led to the death of one child. The Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) has launched supplementary immunization campaigns in affected states and regions, but low immunization coverage in many communities across the country poses a significant challenge to measles control.
For children who become infected with measles, vitamin A deficiency due to undernourishment is a recognized risk factor that can lead to severe measles. In Kawkareik Township, Kayin State, Myanmar, the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) and the MoHS District Health Department are cooperating to ensure that children under five receive vitamin A supplements to help prevent severe measles in case of infection. Breaking the Cycle: Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B in Peri-Urban Yangon2/25/2019
On February 15, 2019, around 50 pregnant and reproductive-age women in the Yangon suburb of South Dagon, Myanmar, gathered to learn about the hepatitis B virus (HBV), including the nature of HBV, transmission pathways, treatment options and prevention. This health education session was part of a pilot study, led by Community Partners International (CPI) in collaboration with the Myanmar Liver Foundation (MLF) and the B. K. Kee Foundation, to develop a workable and effective community-based model to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HBV in low-income peri-urban communities in Myanmar.
On January 7th, 2019, around 200 people gathered at a symposium in Yangon to explore approaches to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Myanmar. The symposium, part of the 47th Myanmar Health Research Congress, was organized by the Department of Medical Research (DMR), the Ministry of Health and Sports (M0HS) and Community Partners International (CPI) to raise awareness of, and engagement with, efforts to achieve health for all in Myanmar.
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April 2024
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