Medical treatments and other social problems in Myanmar

It is a very good news that many countries and many organizations would like to help Myanmar citizens.  Due to the primitive society in Myanmar, many HIV infected patients dare not come to the right center for medical treatment.  

Society in Myanmar has not modernized yet so that people avoid HIV infected patients.  Society, neighbors, environment put HIV infected patients out in the cold.  HIV infected patients need moral support as well as medication support.  

Due to the very poor medical treatments by local doctors, some die without any proper reason.  Local doctors, nurses, hospitals, centers, etc., provides very unfriendly atmosphere to all patients.  Some even hostile to the patients. 

Medications for HIV patients are very complicated.  Physicians need to check HIV patient with a great care and decide which level of HIV medication is suitable for that particular patient (according to the HIV blood test –cd4 result for each patient).  Medication for one HIV patient and other HIV patient may not be the same.  ARV medication is just a general name for HIV patients.  

Same level of ARV medication cannot treat for all HIV patients.  All HIV patients must take medication at least twice a day and 12 hours time difference.  HIV patients cannot miss even a single dose of the medication and a great care to take twice a day with only 12 hours time difference.  Maximum 15 minutes can be late to take the daily medications.  All HIV patients must take the medication for life long period.  

HIV medications are very costly so that it is hard for anyone to pay for the medications for life long.  As far as we know, one type of HIV medications is directly imported from U.S.A. to Thailand and the other type of HIV medications is from under license companies in Thailand.  HIV medications from under license companies in Thailand are cheaper.  It cost THB or Baht 20, 000 (Baht twenty thousands) per month in government hospitals, according to a HIV patient in Bangkok.   It can say that it is expensive enough for a Thai people in Thailand too.  

No wonder that it is very hard for any single person to afford taking HIV medications for life long period especially where he or she is living in a third world countries or from a developing countries. 

In Thailand, people can buy condoms even in convenience stores like 7Eleven, family marks, am pm, etc which opens 24 hours.  Where to buy and how to buy condoms in Myanmar?  Can local people afford to buy one or not?  Do they have knowledge to use it or not?  HIV virus can spread not only from having sex without condom, but also from blood transmission, from hair-cut blade, from oral sex, from dental-clinics, from lip-kiss, from knife which is used in operation-theaters of the hospitals, from drug-addicts, needles from syringes, etc, etc.

Life is very cheap in Myanmar.  Many people here are lack of education, knowledge and dare not speak openly to what they feel to their doctors, clinics and the medications.  Corruption is everywhere and every level in Myanmar.  

Least number of medications will go into the hands of infected patients and the rest may sell out in the black market.  Even NGOs are not reliable at all. But patients can get at least some help from NGOs (something is better than nothing).  We heard that HIV medications supplied by NGOs are just off and on time period.  Whenever there is a shortage of medications or lack of fund, patients must stop taking medications.  

Is there any hope for anyone to get a NGO job especially in Burma?  We heard that although they post job vacancies on the net, they already had selected job applicants to fill the positions. They only employ those who know them very well like family members, relatives, closed friends, someone special, etc.  NGOs job posting on the net may be only for publicity.  Actually job vacancies may not open to ALL.

One breast cancer patient for example, was taken medical treatment in Yangon, one of her breast was cut without doing even mammogram or X-ray in one of the private hospitals in Yangon.  She then went to Thailand for further treatment.  She is an engineer and a government officer.  Thai doctors do not know what to do with her because she could not submit her past medical record and she cannot submit the tissue or paraffin wax of the tissue of the breast she cut off in Myanmar. 

In Myanmar, many local LABs are totally useless and not at all dependable and reliable.  As I said above, the tissue must keep in the paraffin wax and it must keep in a lab at least for one year long (international standard), but in Myanmar, no lab keep that even for three months long. 

There are not at all modern medical technology machines, equipments, etc in throughout Myanmar (Example, Mammogram machine, digital radiation machine, etc).

Although there are many medical doctors in Myanmar who graduated from UK or other Western countries or elsewhere in the world, they are very careless and they do not have any medical ethic.   Even the Local doctors with overseas degree themselves are not at all up-to-date with modern medical technology.  For some instances, the diagnosis of the patients does not match the medications given by a doctor. 

We are sure that in other countries, family members, relatives, etc of the patients take a legal action against the doctor if their love ones die with the careless of the doctor, but in Myanmar, because of the religious teachings, family members, relatives, etc of the patients do not sue or take the legal action against the doctor even if their love ones die with the careless of the doctor because they can easily forgive to the doctor.  They believe that whatever they put a spite on the doctor, they cannot get their love ones back with life again.  That forgiveness unintentionally encourages the doctors to do more and more careless and accidently to commit more and more crimes in future.

Patients who cannot afford to go abroad for medical treatment are same like guinea pigs in Myanmar.  Only 15 percents of the total population in Myanmar can afford to go abroad for medical check-up, for education, for holidays, etc.  The fate of the rest are just depends on their own “Karma”. 

We read many news, magazines, etc for swine flu or A H1 N1 infected virus.  We know that there is a medication to prevent that virus from spreading only.  We haven't read any article that people who already infected A H1 N1 virus can 100% cured.  Is there anyone who cured fully from infected A H1 N1 virus?  Kindly advise us. 

State-run television in the union of Myanmar said that some A H1 N1 infected patients cured fully and already discharged from the respective hospitals.  Can it be possible?  The media never announce that it is swine flu.  It only mentioned that it is a kind of human flu.  It said consumption of pigs is not at all harmful to people with regard to A H1 N1.  Is it right? 

Is the Union of Myanmar is the first and the only country in the world that can 100% cured some A H1 N1 infected patients and can even discharged from the respective local hospitals?  Please advice. 

These poor conditions really existing in the most developed city in Myanmar called Yangon.  So, what about and how about of the patients who live in the provinces? 

Many villages do not even have first aid clinic / center.  In Irrawaddy division for example, the villages between Nga Ting Chaung town and Lay Myat Nhar town (except I tha byu town) do not even have a first aid center and there is no power supply at all.  Each hat (each family) does not have own toilet.  A few numbers of hats have to share one toilet. 

Due to the language barrier, foreigners cannot speak directly to the local people or infected patients or even if he or she does, he/she cannot get right answer from them because local authorities (government as well as NGOs) already shouted them what to say to the foreigners.  People who live in the province are very timid type compared to the city dwellers. 

Still now, many local people in Myanmar and many foreigners do not know how many NGO HIV treatment centers in Myanmar and Please advice if there is a website to see the location or address of the NGO HIV treatment centers existing in Yangon and throughout Myanmar and how the effective treatments given to the patients.  Many NGOs give the reason that they have shortage of medications, funds, etc.

There is no international standard hospital or ISO certified in Myanmar.  We cannot say that a hospital with international standard is just in-terms of the decoration of the hospital rooms only.  The Hygienic, doctors and  nurses treatments to the patients, hospital rooms’ service, food service render by the hospitals, hospital equipments, services provided by all level of hospital staff, etc, etc are also counted.  

Some people who live in urban areas and many people who live in rural areas can afford / can rely on only tradition medicines/herbs/leaves, etc because it is cheap and they can read the description of the medications easily because it is written in Burmese language.  95 percent of the tradition medicines/ herbs/ leaves, etc are not at all internationally recognized or ISO certified.  

Some traditional medicine are allowed to produce by the government of Myanmar.  It is just registered at the government of Myanmar or it is just recognized by the government of Myanmar.  It is not at all recognized by World Health Organization or any developed country.  

Government of Myanmar also produce another type of doctors who treat the patients with traditional medicines and the doctors are trained with all traditional medicines.  So, there are at least two types of doctors in Myanmar.  

One type is called "doctor of medicine and doctor of surgery M.B.B.S. (many countries it is called M.D) or who are trained with international recognized medicines.  

Other type of doctor is just recognized by the government of Myanmar --who are trained with all traditional medicines and treat patients with the traditional medicines.