Health
Our goal is to improve access to public health and primary medical care in Chin State
Health indicators in Chin State continue to be among the worst in Myanmar. The primary cause of death is from infectious diseases including pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria – most of which are preventable and treatable. Medicines are scarce and expensive and despite there being numerous health facilities, many are empty and all are understaffed. Due to the distance between villages and towns, patients only travel to a hospital when their deteriorating health conditions are at their worst, with some arriving too late.
Maternal health project
Our maternal health project supports pregnant women in remote locations with low resources. The long-term goal of this project is to help communities from Western Myanmar develop health monitoring tools, and to improve access to adequate healthcare for members of their community with a special focus on pregnant women and babies.
Currently, we are working with local partners to introduce the use of a mobile phone app to monitor health data about community members to identify high-risk groups such as pregnant women. The goal is to implement activities such as:
- Ultrasound and dietary supplements
- Regular prenatal check-ups to improve maternal and neonatal health
- Identify high-risk pregnancies requiring assistance.
This knowledge gives women more choice and control over their pregnancy and ensures that a trained medical professional is available to deliver a baby and/or transfer high-risk pregnancies to a hospital.
This project being delivered in partnership with Columbia University until 2026.
If you would like to find out more information, please contact us.
Our Health projects prior to the military coup
Prior to the military coup, from 2008 to 2021, Health & Hope trained 791 Community Health Workers (CHWs), 32 Area Coordinators (ACs) and 126 Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs). In addition, 14 local Trainer of Trainers have been trained who have in turn delivered Maternal & Neonatal health training to 101 TBAs in remote villages. This network of locally trained health workers forms part of the community-led response to health challenges across the region, providing support to a population of 150,000 people across 445 partner villages.
Please click the links below to our projects:
Summary
Based in Lailenpi, Hope Clinic was built in 2016, and provided services to just under 2,000 patients in and around Lailenpi each year. The clinic has room for up to six inpatients and, in emergencies, provided a referral and transport service to hospitals in Pakokku or Yangon. The clinic also acted as a clinical training centre for CHWs and TBAs, and as a base for a mobile medical team who conducted clinics in remote villages.
Challenge
Health indicators in Chin State are poor and due to the remoteness between villages, patients only travel to a hospital when their deteriorating health conditions are at their worst, with some arriving too late. The rural poor are most affected by the lack of investment in healthcare.
Solution
Hope Clinic was constructed in 2016 to provide outpatient and inpatient services to 2,000 patients each year from the community in and around Lailenpi. The clinic provided outpatient services six days a week and, in emergencies, provided a referral service and finances transport to hospitals in larger towns and cities across the country. This service often saved families going into lifelong debt in order to reach expert clinical care in hospital.
The clinic also acted as a clinical training centre for Area Co-ordinators (ACs), Community Health Workers (CHWs), Trainer of Trainers and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) and a base from which to run community health education campaigns.
Sadly, due to insecurity in Myanmar, the Hope Clinic has had to temporarily close but we hope that one day we may be able to re-open it.
