U Myint Khaing is being treated for TB in Myanmar. March 2023 © MSF
Shinjiro Murata, general director of Doctors Without Border Japan, talks to staff at Aung San TB hospital ©MSF
Around 40 Doctors Without Border staff, including five laboratory technicians, work in this hospital and in the National TB Reference Laboratory. Doctors Without Border staff provides medical services for TB patients and supports the Ministry of Health’s National Tuberculosis Program. Doctors Without Border also conducts health promotion activities around hygiene and infection prevention.
“We have about 70 inpatients, which isn’t a large number,” says a Doctors Without Border doctor. “Only severe or complex cases come to this hospital.” Many people with TB go untreated until their disease has reached a severe state. This is due to delays in diagnosis, compounded by a lack of health education about the need for early consultations, as well as by rising living costs and the deteriorating security situation, which are significantly hindering people’s access to healthcare.
A patient receives treatment for DR-TB at Aung San TB hospital, March 2023 © MSF
Access to medical care impeded by deteriorating security situation
Since the military takeover, medical care has become increasingly inaccessible in Myanmar. Many healthcare workers have resigned in protest, joining the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against the military authorities. In Yangon, restrictions on people’s movements and a deteriorating security situation due to clashes between various groups have further strained the already fragile healthcare system, limiting the availability of medical services.
Citywide curfews currently prevent people whose conditions worsen at night from reaching a hospital. There have been reports of people dying from asthma attacks because they couldn’t get emergency care.
“Many people think Yangon is safe, but there have been attacks here as well,” says a Doctors Without Border staff member. “It’s just relatively better here than in other regions.”
Feelings of despair and hopelessness
Many people describe having felt despair in the wake of the military take-over.
“The internet was cut off, but I found out what happened to our country through the TV news,” says one. “I felt we lost everything. We had so much to do and everything had been going well.”
The change in power has made many people give up on their dreams. One staff member said that he had been considering studying abroad, but now his plans seem impossible. The conscription law, announced in February this year, casts a further shadow over people’s minds.
Living with hope
However, many Doctors Without Border staff describe finding hope through their work with Doctors Without Border. They are inspired and motivated by each other’s efforts to serve their patients and communities.
“Working with Doctors Without Border is not only for the patients, the community and for my family, but also for myself,” says a staff member from Rakhine state in western Myanmar. “Right now, I have a job and can eat every day. But there are many people in Myanmar today who cannot.” His family are unable to leave their village in Rakhine, where intense fighting continues.
Amid all the constraints and challenges, these staff members go about their work with a forward-looking spirit. Asked for a message to the people of Myanmar, one responds:
“Prioritise safety and stay strong for Myanmar. We believe that, one day, our hopes will be realised.”
