The movements of the government and development partners after democratization in Myanmar: A perspective on development aid for universal health coverage / 国際保健医療

ABSTRACT

Objective  Donor countries either suspended or restricted development aid for Myanmar during the period of the military regime. However, the democratic movement, which began in 2011, gradually resolved this situation. The government of Myanmar organized a “Myanmar Development Cooperation Forum” in 2013, where the government demonstrated a path for the country’s future development to development partners, including donor countries, international organizations, and international funds. Furthermore, the government has increased the budget for the health sector and upheld universal health coverage (UHC), a target of Social Development Goals, as a goal for the future. To achieve that goal, the “National Health Plan 2017-2021” was recently formulated. This research attempts to identify issues that need to be considered by development partners in this changing environment.Methods  The research was conducted through field studies and literature reviews to investigate the movements of both the government of Myanmar and development partners. It identified issues that need to be considered to achieve UHC, as well as those that development partners should consider when providing aid.Results and conclusion  During the era of the Millennium Development Goals, development partners tended to focus their development aid on maternal and child health, control of specific diseases, and strengthening health services for those specific health problems. However, in order to extend health and medical services to all people, without financial risks on the part of patients under the goal of UHC, it is necessary for the government to formulate and execute comprehensive health policies based on an analysis of Myanmar’s health and medical problems. Aligning with this change, development partners need to concretize their support in response to Myanmar’s health policy issues.