Health

Respected Health Worker Loses Battle with Cancer Padoh Saw Eh Kalu Shwe Oo, a department head of the Karen National Union, passed away on February 8 at 12:49 PM at his home on the Thai-Burma border. Padoh Saw Eh Kalu Shwe Oo, aged 65, died after suffering from liver cancer, according to his eldest son, Saw K’ser Mu Khah, who…

On a recent mission to Mon State, Burma Children Medical Fund staff were surprised to see an old patient, Saw Than Htet turn up with villagers to have their eyes tested. Now grown up, married with wife and family, Saw Than Htet, now 33, reflected back to when BCMF organized lifesaving heart surgery for him in 2014. Saw Than Htet,…

Villagers in Nat Gon and nearby villages of Hpa-an Township, Karen State panicked after noticing their water sources had turned black. They are now too scared to drink the water. In early October, villages in Bar Kat village tract, about one mile in the west of Hpa-an town, found their water water-wells, ponds and streams had turned dark making them…

The death this week of Dr. Frank Green has left a massive void on the Thai Burma border, but Dr. Frank’s work in providing eye care to people from Burma lives on. Dr. Frank and his ophthalmologist colleague, Dr. Phillip Ambler, first came to the border region in 1990 to offer free eye care to refugees and displaced people from…

Dr Cynthia Maung has been awarded the 2018 Toux Prize for her work delivering health care to displaced, refugee and migrant communities. Dr Cynthia received the honor at an award ceremony in Washington DC U.S. Dr Cynthia founded the Mae Tao Clinic on the Thai Burma border in 1989 after fleeing the Burma military crackdown in 1988. From its humble…

Border-based Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT) said suspected measles outbreak has been reported in Htee Thablu Hta Village Tract in Dweh lo Township of Mu Traw (Hpapun) District in northern Karen State. More than 100 people contracted suspected measles in 8 out of 12 villages under Htee Thablu Hta Village Tract – Bway Htaw Ru, Ka Pi Khee, Wa…

The Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW), which is the health department of the Karen National Union (KNU), said health workers are still needed to provide healthcare service in KNU-controlled areas. Saw Eh Pwoh, in-charge of the KDHW Central Training, said the a medic training course is being given at Taw Naw Training Hospital in Kawkareik Township, Doopalaya District…

The wet season in Burma is when dengue fever strikes communities. The Karen State public health department has diagnosed 436 people dengue fever as of July 14, 2018. Among the recorded 436 cases, 306 were from Hpa-an, 35 from Kawkareik, 39 from Hlaingbwe, 20 from Myawady, 8 from Kyainseikkyi, 22 from Hpapun and 6 from Thandaung Townships. Doctor Tun Min…

Thai-Burma border-based health organizations, local health experts and health experts from overseas, and leaders of ethnic health organizations participated in a health seminar at the Thai-Burma border on May 21-22. The Burma Medical Association (BMA)’s director Saw Nay Htoo, who led the seminar, said the seminar was held to collectively find ways for the emergence of universal health coverage and…

The BackPack Health Worker Team (BPHWT) has opened a rural clinic in No-khwee Village, where healthcare is out of reach, in Paingkyon Township, Hpa-an District in the Karen State on March 3. The BPHWT’s deputy director Nan Snow said No-khwee Village does not receive any healthcare service from the government and local authorities due to difficulties in travelling and lack…