Healthcare in Myanmar

Introduction
Myanmar shares borders with Thailand, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, China, Bangladesh and India. Estimates for 2004 indicated there were 50.1 million people living in Myanmar which is one of the least densely populated countries in Asia. The rugged, forested portion of its terrain is still only lightly settled; it is a land of villages, with only around 29.3 per cent of the population living in urban areas (2003). The annual population growth rate is high by world standards, but is about average for South East Asia. Myanmar has a centrally planned, developing economy that is largely nationalised and is based principally upon agriculture and trade. The GNP per capita, however, remains one of the lowest in the world.

Healthcare
Myanmar's hospitals have long queues of patients, many with the classic diseases of poverty such as tuberculosis, malaria and water-borne illnesses, but are often unable to give them the treatment they need, because medications are either too expensive or impossible to obtain.

Myanmar's military junta has been ruling the country for four decades, during which time many other South East Asian nations have seen dramatic improvements in their economies, government services and standards of living.

The World Health Organization estimates that Myanmar spends US$10 per person per year on healthcare, compared with its neighbours Thailand and Malaysia, which spend US$160 and US$218 respectively. One NGO estimated that the actual Burmese figure was even lower - more like US$0.50. As a result, an estimated 150,000 Burmese children under the age of five die every year of malaria, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea.

HIV/AIDS
Myanmar has one of the most serious HIV/AIDS epidemics in South East Asia. The Ministry of Health estimates that 338,911 adults aged 15-49 years old were living with HIV in September 2004, of which 28.6 per cent were women, indicating a total prevalence rate of 1.3 per cent. UNAids estimates that 360,000 Burmese people are currently living with the disease - and other organisations put the figure as high as 600,000. With national estimated HIV prevalence of between 0.6 per cent and 2.2 per cent, Myanmar is experiencing a generalised epidemic, considered one of the most serious in Asia.

Officially reported AIDS cases attribute 30 per cent to intravenous drug use and 68 per cent to heterosexual transmission. Intravenous drug users have exceptionally high rates of HIV infection, with rates among drug users tested in Yangon and Mandalay in 2003 ranging from 50 per cent to 85 per cent.

Source: WHO: Summary country profile for HIV/AIDS treatment scale-up (June 2005) & WHO HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific Region 2003

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