A new collective voices report has just been released by the Three Millennium Development Goals Fund.
There were no respondents in Kachin or Sagaing interviewed for this study.
http://www.3mdg.org/en/newsroom/item/675-communities-matter-report-launched-to-change-how-health-is-understood
Poverty is the only social determinant of health that was discussed in any detail by the people interviewed. What determinants were not discussed?
Jamie
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"Communities Matter:" Report launched to change how health is understood
3MDG Fund
08 September, 2016
The Minister of Health and Sports, H.E Dr Myint Htwe, gave the opening remarks at today’s launch of the Three Millennium Development Goal Fund (3MDG) report, “Collective Voices: Exploring barriers to healthcare access in Myanmar.”
This report represents a critical departure from understandings of health that emphasize disease patterns, expanding it to include perspectives from communities about how they experience health, and how they seek healthcare. The report highlights what needs to change within communities and the health sector if the right to health for all is to become a reality.
Today’s launch brought together the Ministry of Health and Sports, other Ministries, Members of Parliament, 3MDG, and civil society organizations to start an important discussion about the social barriers which impact access to healthcare in Myanmar and explore solutions to overcome them.
H.E Dr. Myint Htwe, the Minister of Health and Sports, said at the launch, “To solve these issues, everybody’s involvement is essential. Community-based organizations collected the information in the report at the village level, and I believe it is time their involvement was recognized, and credited. A combined effort will make us stronger.”
The report presents information gathered in 2015 by six local organizations working in partnership with 19 community-based organizations, that conducted more than 500 community meetings across six states and regions. This report gives voice to individuals and communities, and is one of the first in Myanmar to look at the lived experiences and social factors which impact health from the perspective of communities themselves. In some cases, the organizations trekked very long distances – up to three days – to include the voices of people living in remote villages in Myanmar.
Communities identified a range of social factors affecting their health and wellbeing, including socioeconomic status and poverty, education, culture, language, gender and social norms. They also raised issues about levels of confidence in the health system and their relationships with healthcare providers. These factors cannot be underestimated - they have a powerful influence on health status, on people’s understanding of health, and on the ways people seek healthcare.
The event highlighted a number of recommendations for Ministries, including the Ministry of Health and Sports, and local organizations and communities, recognizing that health is a cross-cutting issue, and better health requires cross-sectoral collaboration.
Key points raised include:
To be most effective, health interventions must be informed by more than disease patterns to include an understanding of how people think, act and feel about healthcare.
Lived experiences of health are incredibly diverse across Myanmar. Health services need be tailored to different settings to increase community uptake.
Civil society organizations have a key role to play in improving levels of confidence in Myanmar by bringing health service providers and users together.
The report’s approach, which emphasizes participation and inclusive methods to listen to community voices, should be used to inform health policy and programming.
The event today highlighted that the demand for better health and the right to health can only be effectively addressed through collective efforts, and only if these efforts address both the underlying social factors and ensure the widespread availability of acceptable and affordable healthcare. This will contribute to a more responsible, fair and inclusive health sector.
3MDG Fund Director, Dr. Paul Sender, said: “This report is a starting point for what needs to change. Today, we have only scratched the surface of issues for people whose health is constrained by factors like gender, where they live, or stigma, but these discussions can make an important contribution to the development of Myanmar’s five year plan for health.”
The report was financed by 3MDG, a Myanmar-based fund that aims to address the barriers limiting access to healthcare by pooling the contributions of seven bilateral donors - Australia, Denmark, the European Union, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Access the summary version of the report - English \ Myanmar
Access the full version of the report - English \ Myanmar
http://www.3mdg.org/en/newsroom/item/675-communities-matter-report-launched-to-change-how-health-is-understood
