| Project Detail |
The military coup in Myanmar has interrupted the progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and provoked a quasi-collapse of the public health system. Through the Primary Health Care project, Switzerland supports conflict-affected communities in Karen State by providing essential lifesaving healthcare and quality basic maternal and child health services through strengthening the ethnic health system and the community-based service provision.
The conflict in Myanmar is the worlds longest ongoing civil war, having spanned more than seventy years. Decades of underinvestment in health care have resulted in an underdeveloped and fragile health system with poor health outcomes, especially in maternal and child health - the mortality and morbidity ratios still remain the highest in South East Asia. In many ethnic areas, there are two parallel health systems which are intertwined and overlapping: the national health system operated by government and the ethnic health system operated by Ethnic health organizations (EHOs) which are the civilian health departments of Ethnic armed organizations. The military coup in February 2021 has interrupted the progress towards UHC - especially on routine immunization - leading to considerable inequities in health access and provoked a quasi collapse of the public health system. The Primary Health Care (PHC) project was initially designed to bring convergence to the two parallel health systems in Karen State, seen as an entry point for “interim arrangement” and peace negotiations. Following the coup, PHC had to significantly adapt its interventions by suspending all activities with the regime Ministry of Health and reinforced their engagement with EHOs and Civil Society Organizations to deliver equitable and quality health services to the conflict-affected population. Switzerland brings comparative advantage from its long-standing experience working with EHOs as well as from its Nexus approach.
Objectives Marginalized and conflict-affected communities have access to better basic healthinfrastructures and services and are enabled to contribute to local and ethnic health governance through enhanced individual and organizational capacities. |
