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Country Profile Myanmar (Burma)

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia, on the border of India. While the region has a long history of powerful civilizations, recently it is not doing well. Myanmar’s dictatorial government has bestowed upon it a struggling economy, one of the worst health care systems in the world, repeated accusations of human rights violations and a reputation for human trafficking and forced child labor. Despite a rich resource base, it still remains one of the poorest nations in southeast Asia. The population of Myanmar is 50 million, with an estimated 1/3rd of the people living in urban areas. This is average in a region that is still mostly agrarian in nature. The life expectancy of Myanmar’s people is slightly below the global average, though the recent 2008 Cyclone Nargis brought a death toll of nearly two-hundred thousand.

Health service expenditure has been rising in the recent years, though still remains very low at 1/5th of the regional average. Myanmar spends the least amount of its GDP on health care than any other country in the world. The medical workforce is comparable to regional numbers, despite this low spending. This suggests either that medical personnel are getting paid very low wages or that health care is reserved for the wealthier class. Lack of information on wealth disparity in the country makes it difficult to ascertain the truth.

Infant mortality in Myanmar is higher than the regional average at 71 deaths versus 59 per 1000 live births. A very large proportion of children suffer from stunted growth, though this has come down from 50 percent to 40 percent in recent years. Infant mortality causes are 28 percent injury-related, though these numbers are not completely indicative of the average given the massive death toll from Cyclone Nargis in the year the statistics were gathered. 31 percent of infant mortality is due to birth-related problems, most likely due to malnutrition and inadequate health care.

The rate of attended births is lower than average by 12 percent, though much of this may be because of the primarily rural communities. There is no information on wealth disparities in this area, making it difficult to tell.

HIV is prevalent in Myanmar, at twice of regional average and cases of tuberculosis are similar. Immunizations of children are approximately 20 percent lower than average, which shows in the much larger numbers of children who suffer death because of measles. In addition, Cyclone Nargis caused a widespread malaria outbreak, which makes accurate statistical analysis difficult.

While rural clean drinking-water supplies have risen, there has been a decline in urban availability. This is most likely due to pollution in developed areas of the country. Sanitation has been rising equally in urban and rural areas.

Myanmar has a bad track record as of recent, but the transition to a new government in August of 2011 may change this. Human rights issues are already being addressed, though if the new government proves to be just a new face for the old one, these sorts of changes may not last long.