Living in Myanmar, Part 1: The day we lost everything

Myanmar’s only functioning TB hospital

“Before the 2021 military takeover, there were five tuberculosis (TB) laboratories,” says an MSF staff member at Aung San TB Hospital in Yangon. “Now, only one remains operational.” 

The 90-bed hospital is the only large-scale facility still functioning in Myanmar to treat patients with TB, in particular those with multidrug forms of the disease, which are resistant to standard treatments. Around nine in ten patients at the hospital have multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Although the hospital houses a laboratory capable of advanced diagnostics, it is currently almost non-operational. Some hospital wards have been closed and equipment has not been replaced. What were once bustling wards and consultation rooms now stand empty, eerily quiet like abandoned ruins.

Around 40 MSF staff, including five laboratory technicians, work in this hospital and in the National TB Reference Laboratory. MSF staff provides medical services for TB patients and supports the Ministry of Health’s National Tuberculosis Program. MSF also conducts health promotion activities around hygiene and infection prevention.

“We have about 70 inpatients, which isn’t a large number,” says an MSF doctor. “Only severe or complex cases come to this hospital.” 

Many people with TB go untreated until their disease has reached a severe state. This is due to delays in diagnosis, compounded by a lack of health education about the need for early consultations, as well as by rising living costs and the deteriorating security situation, which are significantly hindering people’s access to healthcare.

Access to medical care impeded by deteriorating security situation

Since the military takeover, medical care has become increasingly inaccessible in Myanmar. Many healthcare workers have resigned in protest, joining the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against the military authorities. In Yangon, restrictions on people’s movements and a deteriorating security situation due to clashes between various groups have further strained the already fragile healthcare system, limiting the availability of medical services.

Citywide curfews currently prevent people whose conditions worsen at night from reaching a hospital. There have been reports of people dying from asthma attacks because they couldn’t get emergency care. 
“Many people think Yangon is safe, but there have been attacks here as well,” says an MSF staff member. “It’s just relatively better here than in other regions.” 

Feelings of despair and hopelessness 

Many people describe having felt despair in the wake of the military take-over.

“The internet was cut off, but I found out what happened to our country through the TV news,” says one. “I felt we lost everything. We had so much to do and everything had been going well.”

The change in power has made many people give up on their dreams. One staff member said that he had been considering studying abroad, but now his plans seem impossible. The conscription law, announced in February this year, casts a further shadow over people’s minds. 

Living with hope

However, many MSF staff describe finding hope through their work with MSF. They are inspired and motivated by each other’s efforts to serve their patients and communities. 

“Working with MSF is not only for the patients, the community and for my family, but also for myself,” says a staff member from Rakhine state in western Myanmar. “Right now, I have a job and can eat every day. But there are many people in Myanmar today who cannot.” His family are unable to leave their village in Rakhine, where intense fighting continues.

Amid all the constraints and challenges, these staff members go about their work with a forward-looking spirit. Asked for a message to the people of Myanmar, one responds:

“Prioritise safety and stay strong for Myanmar. We believe that, one day, our hopes will be realised.”