In December I questioned whether picking up trash was the best way to deal with a public health problem and presented a range of public policy options for the new government. It is reprinted below. I got this comment from a reader with a valid point:

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"Way to go for the policy level change! I think the idea behind the campaign is good and the campaign itself increases the awareness of the people. Many citizens need this kind of awareness. If we talk with behavior change cycle, the citizens need contemplation. The campaign needs to keep going and the policies you advised should also be aimed in the long run."

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Does the NLD have a public and published health policy?

Jamie

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If this is an example of governance by Suu Kyi and the NLD then we are all in for a wild ride. She has begun a trash cleanup campaign. It is reported that "the campaign’s stated goals are to improve public health, present a more attractive image of the country in light of the rising number of foreign tourists arriving in Burma, and to demonstrate that social change can occur swiftly with public participation".

Can anyone inform this public health professional what possible positive public health outcomes could result from cleaning up trash?

There are many measures that could be implemented to demonstrate good governance on this issue: banning plastic bags, legislating guidance on packaging to prevent overpackaging, mandating regular municipal pickup of trash, charging people for plastic bags, fining people for littering, regulating recycling of water bottles, creating drinkable tap water systems, &c; &c.;

Personally, I would like to see a global ban on 'three-in-one coffee' ...

Jamie

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Suu Kyi Inaugurates Nationwide Trash Cleanup Campaign
San Yamin Aung
The Irrawaddy
Sunday, December 13, 2015 |

KAWHMU, Rangoon Division — National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi launched a nationwide garbage collection drive, after her appeal to party members to promote civic values.

Suu Kyi led the so-called “Environmental Beautification Campaign” in the Rangoon township of Kawhmu at around 7am on Sunday morning, where she successfully defended her Lower House seat in the Nov. 8 election. Around 100 residents of all ages enthusiastically joined the campaign, along with assembled journalists and photographers after an entreaty by Suu Kyi.

“I have never witnessed this kind of scene in my life,” said local resident Than Hla, 74, who proudly displayed the plastic gloves he had donned to participate. “It is the best kind of work. We have had many leaders, but she has given excellent advice to us, to start the change with this activity.”

At her first meeting with victorious NLD candidates in last month’s poll, Suu Kyi urged those present to lead by example and personally assist in cleaning up their constituencies. Earlier this month, NLD journal D-Wave announced that the collection drive would begin on Dec. 13 and called on lawmakers, party members and the general public to join the campaign.

According to the announcement, the campaign’s stated goals are to improve public health, present a more attractive image of the country in light of the rising number of foreign tourists arriving in Burma, and to demonstrate that social change can occur swiftly with public participation.

Zin Mar Aung, who will represent Yankin in the Lower House for the NLD next year, told The Irrawaddy that cleanup efforts in her township on Sunday had been joined by members of the municipal government, the local fire station and Red Cross members, along with her constituents.

“We plan to do it regularly,” she said. “We are not just picking up trash, we would like to be able to change behavior over the long term by raising awareness among the public.”

Dr. Hla Moe, MP-elect for Aungmyaythazan in Mandalay, said that each township in his city took part in the campaign, with around 300 people participating in his constituency.

After Suu Kyi floated the idea, some eager party members and youth leaders had already begun conducting regular weekend cleanup drives in their neighborhoods before the campaign was officially inaugurated on Sunday.

“We collected the rubbish to prove that we follow our leader’s words,” said well-known director Kyi Phyu Shin in a Facebook post on Saturday. “While I collecting the rubbish, I realized I should not litter anymore. I would like to urge all to join, since the message the campaign is spreading is very precious.”

http://www.irrawaddy.com/burma/suu-kyi-inaugurates-nationwide-trash-cleanup-campaign.html

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After Election Win, Suu Kyi Gets to Work Cleaning Up Myanmar

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 13, 2015

KAWHMU, Myanmar — Following her party's landmark election win, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi vowed to give her desperately poor country a much-needed face-lift.

Wearing plastic gloves, the septuagenarian got to it early Sunday, walking along the edge of an old, pot-holed road in her constituency, Kawhmu, picking up discarded water bottles, plastic bags and instant coffee wrappers.

Villagers rushed to help, filling up their own big sacks with garbage.

Myanmar emerged from a half-century of brutal military rule in 2011, but years of mismanagement, combined with international sanctions and isolation, had turned it into one of the world's poorest and most neglected nations. The infrastructure is in shambles and public services, including trash collection and recycling, is virtually nonexistent.

After the National League for Democracy Party's Nov. 8 election victory, Suu Kyi, 70, told winning lawmakers to start by cleaning up their own constituencies. The party's garbage-collection campaign, she said, was aimed at improving public health, respecting the environment and attracting tourists.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/12/13/world/asia/ap-as-myanmar-suu-kyi-trash-collector.html?emc=eta1&_r=0&referer;=