The general state of healthcare in Myanmar is poor. The military government of 1962-2011 spent anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on healthcare. Healthcare in Myanmar is consistently ranked among the lowest in the world. In 2015, in congruence with a new democratic government, a series of healthcare reforms were enacted. In 2017, the reformed government spent 5.2% of GDP on healthcare expenditures. Health indicators have begun to improve as spending continues to increase. Patients continue to pay the majority of healthcare costsout of pocket. Although, out of pocket costs were reduced from 85% to 62% from 2014 to 2015. They continue to drop annually. The global average of healthcare costs paid out of pocket is 32%. Both public and private hospitals are understaffed due to a national shortage of doctors and nurses. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. WHO consistently ranks Myanmar among the worst nations in healthcare.
Health infrastructure
Burma has 6 medical universities: 5 civilian and one military. All are operated by the government and recognised by the Myanmar Medical Council. They are:
The 2015 maternal mortality rate was 178 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is compared with 240 in 2010, 219.3 in 2008, and 662 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 73 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 47. In Myanmar the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 9 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women 1 in 180. Abortion is illegal in Myanmar. Although the maternal mortality rate has decreased since 1970 in regards to pregnancy and childbirth, death due to abortion remains high due to attempts at obtaining illegal abortion.
HIV/AIDS
recognised as a disease of concern by the Burmese Ministry of Health, is most prevalent among sex workers and intravenous drug users. In 2005, the estimated adult HIV prevalence rate in Burma was 1.3%, according to UNAIDS, and early indicators show that the epidemic may be waning in the country, although the epidemic continues to expand. The National AIDS Programme Burma found that 32% of sex workers and 43% of intravenous drug users in Burma have HIV. The national government spent US$137,120 in 2005 on HIV, while international donors donated US$27,711,813 towards HIV programmes in Burma. Burma has one of Asia's highest adult HIV prevalence rates, following Cambodia and Thailand. An estimated 20,000 die from HIV/AIDS annually.
Malaria
Myanmar made significant progress in malaria control in the 2010s, with an 80 percent reduction in the number of confirmed malaria cases registered from 2011 to 2016 and a 96 percent reduction in the number of deaths attributable to malaria has been reported in the same period. Yet the malaria burden in Myanmar remains the highest among the six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion, and an early warning sign of artemisininresistance – delayed parasite clearance – has been reported in several parts of the country. Despite this, the annual monitoring of the therapeutic efficacy of first- and second-line recommended artemisinin-based combination therapies has shown that both are still fully efficacious with an adequate clinical and parasitological response above 95 percent. P. falciparum, accounting for 60 percent of all malaria cases, and P. vivax are the major parasite species, and there are 10 malaria-transmitting mosquito species. Analysis of the age and the sex distribution of malaria cases shows that the majority of cases occur in adult males, reflecting the risk associated with occupations such as mining, rubber tapping, construction, and forest-related activities. The ultimate goal of Myanmar’s National Strategic Plan for Intensifying Malaria Control and Accelerating Progress Towards Malaria Elimination is to eliminate P. falciparum malaria by 2025 and all forms of malaria by 2030.
