No smoking zones may benefit employees of the establishment. But their goal is to decrease the percentage of people who smoke tobacco. Were any other measures in Naypyitaw announced? What insitution is responsible for enforcing the ban? Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Myanmar’s capital city issues new tobacco control decree The Union 24 February 2020 Myanmar’s capital city, […]

I found this statement strange: “We’re educating the prisoners about coronavirus in cooperation with local health departments, not just prison doctors,” said U Ye Yint Naing.” Most prisons in Myanmar do not have doctors. A written plan to deal with COVID-19 preparedness, prevention, and care in detentional facilities could be written and implemented. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ […]

Democratic goverments change unjust laws before they are enacted when professionals and the public comment on them. The last two paras are fascinating. Aung Tun points out that implementation of the Food and Tobacco Law is the responsibility of ‘the authorities’. What consequences are there for ‘the authorities’ when they don’t take action? Will educating […]

Congratulations to Frontier for publishing an article on nicotine vaping in Myanmar. I posted my view on nicotine vaping on LinkedIn a few months ago: 1) The long term effects of nicotine vaping (and nicotine solvents) on adolescents and adults are unknown. Until they are, rigorous regulation is a sound cautious measure. 2) Nicotine vaping […]

This won’t win me many friends, or maybe it will, but what the heck … Suu Kyi appears to still hold a post as a UNAIDS Global Advocate on discrimination. I haven’t found evidence that she has done any concrete advocacy on HIV-related discrimination for years. Is it time to remove her from this post? […]

A couple of comments on this article. If the tobacco control law was enacted in 2006, thanks to the work of the health minister Harry, then decades have not gone by. The article is silent on whose responsibility it is to enforce the law. Is this deliberate? Call me picky, but the goal of no […]

A national AIDS spending assessment for Myanmar was published last year. Who knew? https://www.aidsdatahub.org/national-aids-spending-assessment-nasa-2016-2017-national-aids-programme-department-public-health Three per cent of health spending is HIV spending. “Despite this significant increase in public funding, the country depends largely on international funding to maintain its national HIV response, with international funds covering 80% of the national HIV spending in 2017 […]

An NCDs progress monitoring report has been published by WHO. You can see the findings on Myanmar on page 127. I don’t like the tiny circles in the graphics. Nor the lack of progress. https://www.who.int/publications-detail/ncd-progress-monitor-2020 Jamie

A definitive work on health care use has been published by the World Bank. Here is a recommendation. “Improving the accessibility and affordability of comprehensive healthcare services is vital for sustainable development. Much of the rural population and the poor have limited access to hospitals, which offer a wider range of medical services compared to […]

Published health research on prisoners in Myanmar is rare. Very rare. Here is an exception. https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/5/1/4/pdf Some steps in that HIV care cascade need improvement. Note that ethical approval was obtained. Congrats to the Ministry of Health and Sports, the Prison Department, and the Union. Jamie ++++++++++++++++++ Abstract: Prisoners have a higher HIV prevalence and […]

For most people, masks to prevent COVID-19 are a simply a waste of money. WHO says: “If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection. Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing.” https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks Or if you want the same […]

Have you been waiting for the Health in Myanmar moderator to write about COVID-19? Here goes. The Minister of Health states in this Irrawaddy News article that tests are available. I am concerned about the overall national capacity to respond to the COVID-19. Has a national capacity assessment been done? Where are the results? https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/documents/publications/national-capacities-review-tool-for-a-novel-coronavirus-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=8af8636c_1&download=true […]