Improve Health for Mothers and Babies in Myanmar

The brave women community workers who visit the displaced communities in Karen state Myanmar continue to work in Ee Htu Hta camp but have limited access at the moment to the more remote areas of the state.

Fortunately, the work done previously in these villages has lasting results as mothers pass their learning on to other new mothers and join together to share information.

The coup in Myanmar has made big news but the continuing incursions in the outlying states rarely make news. Unfortunately, displacement continues, and life is uncertain for thousands.

The community workers can reach the displaced communities when there is a lull in activity and are always ready at short notice to travel there.

Meanwhile, health training is still conducted in the internal displacement camps and some women are able to return to their villages after they give birth.
The workshops in the villages where people have fled to will pick up again and your support will continue to make a difference to many more new mothers.

New mothers now face the challenge of protecting their babies and their families against COVID-19. Fortunately many of them benefit from the support and advice from women who have received baby kits and health training previously.

Community workers are gradually making their way into the villages where internally displaced communities are living. In May soldiers burnt down COVID screening posts that were set up by the Karen Department of Health and back-pack health workers. They were able to re-construct the posts in July and the emphasis now is on providing essential supplies and ensuring people understand the measures to take to protect against COVID. Information about the COVID pandemic and personal protective items are not easily available in the more remote villages. The community workers who can reach those villages provide an essential lifeline of support. In addition to the problems of displacement and COVID, the area around Ee Htu Hta internal displacement camp was badly affected recently by flooding.

The current situation highlights the importance of beneficiaries sharing their knowledge and experience to achieve a degree of sustainability in the health program.